Eighty-Five Percent Voter Turnout Expected in Sonoma County

Sonoma County's Registrar of Voters, Janice Atkinson, is predicting 85 percent of the county's registered voters will cast votes in the presidential general election.

In the 2008 presidential election, Sonoma County had the highest voter turnout in the state, with 93.4 percent of those registered casting their votes, Atkinson told Patch. The 2004 presidential election drew 89 percent of the county's registered voters, she said.

She said she makes her predictions based on "the level of excitement out there" and the number of mail ballots coming in.

"I put a finger in the wind," she said, with a chuckle.

"We pride ourselves on getting the mail ballots out and getting them back in time. Our voters like to vote this way," she said. "Its popular throughout the state."

Atkinson said the County also prides itself on the level of interest that residents take in voting.

"We've got a bit of a competition with Marin," she said. "It's great that people get so involved and want to vote."

She had no comment on why Sonoma County demographics might lead to high voter turnouts.

"We don't really care about that or make comments," she said. "We just hope for high margins."

If you haven't had a chance to mail in your ballot, you can drop it off at any polling booth in the county tomorrow, she said.