The Democrats said that the Nov. 5 election would decide the future of democracy in the United States.

In a late campaign decision, the party switched from Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California Attorney General and U.S. Senator, to go toe-to-toe with GOP nominee former President Donald Trump.

With democracy on the line, and a Golden State politician at the top of the ticket, what did Californians do?

They stayed home in droves or didn’t bother mailing in their ballots.

Related Story: Fresno County Sent Out Wrong Ballots. Will Errors Affect Close Races?

According to the latest update from the Secretary of State’s office, California’s voter turnout stands at 68.9%.

In 2020, when Biden denied Trump a second consecutive term in the White House, nearly 81% of registered voters in California completed a ballot.

“Based on the most recent estimate, a little over 16 million Californians voted in the 2024 election. If this number holds, it would mark a significant decline in turnout: roughly 1.7 million fewer ballots than 2020, despite 550,000 more registered voters and 1.8 million more eligible residents,” analyzed Eric McGhee of the Public Policy Institute of California.

In addition to registered voters, there are residents eligible to vote but haven’t signed up. When you include eligible voters, the November 2024 turnout drops to about 60%. That compares to 71% among eligible residents in 2020, which was higher than any California election since 1952.

Read more at the PPIC.