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Record voter turnout expected in California
SACRAMENTO February 5, 2008 12:18pm 
• Sunny skies, hot races prompt what could be biggest primary ever • Nearly 9 million expected at polls 
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver today cast their ballots at Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary School in Los Angeles.
An estimated 8.9 million Californians are expected to cast votes in today’s primaries in California, according to an estimate made by the Field Poll, based on pre-primary polling.
If the prediction holds, it would mark the largest-ever presidential primary in California.
Sunny skies after weeks of rain were expected to prompt precinct turnout but close races in both the Republican and Democratic primaries as well as heavily advertised propositions are also getting credit. This is the first time since 1952 where no incumbent president or vice president is in the running.
The old record for turnout for a primary election was 7.9 million, set in 2000.
According to official state estimates, there are almost 23 million citizen-eligible adults living in California, of whom about 15.7 million are currently on the voter registration rolls. The Field Poll's estimate of 8.9 million voters turning out in the February 5 primary election would represent about 56.6% of all registered voters and 38.8% of all citizen-eligible adults.
Mail ballots will account for 4.1 million of the turnout, the largest number for any previous California primary election, the Field Poll predicts. One of the reasons behind the growing number of votes cast by mail in recent elections relates to the recent rapid growth in the number of registered voters who have signed up as permanent mail ballot registrants. Since this alternative first became available to voters in 2001, nearly 4.7 million Californians now automatically receive their election ballots sent to them by mail before each election, according to the Field Poll.
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