With Election Day four days away, Fresno County voters are returning ballots at a faster pace than they did at the comparable point in the 2022 general election, with more than 100,000 ballots already turned in.

The latest ballot-tracking data, through Thursday, show 99,120 ballots returned across Fresno County, representing 18.73% of the county’s roughly 529,000 registered voters.

Fresno County’s official figures, however, put the running total slightly higher, at 100,393 ballots received.

At the comparable point in the 2022 midterm elections, 84,120 ballots had been returned, or 16.87% of registered voters.

That puts Fresno County about 15,000 ballots ahead of its 2022 pace and nearly 1.9 percentage points higher in turnout as voters enter the final weekend before Tuesday’s election.

Related Story: Fresno Home Gets Ballots for Voters Not Living There. What’s the Fix?

California Voters Hit 20% of Ballots Returned

The increase mirrors a larger statewide trend.

California voters had returned nearly 4.8 million ballots through Thursday, representing 20.58% of more than 23.2 million registered voters. At the comparable point four years ago, about 3.76 million ballots had been returned, or 17.24%.

That means California is more than 1 million ballots ahead of the comparable 2022 total, with turnout running about 3.3 percentage points higher.

Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus said that every ballot received by Saturday will be counted and included in the first run of results at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The county currently has 11 early vote centers with 43 additional locations opening Saturday. 

“People complain about slow results in California, but voters have the power to speed them up,” Kus told GV Wire. “If they double down on early voting, we can get 90% of them counted on election day and get to the rest of the ballots faster.”

The official figures from Fresno County show 3,850 vote-by-mail ballots and 4,694 drop-box ballots were received Thursday, compared with 4,853 vote-by-mail ballots and 5,001 drop-box ballots Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the county received 1,932 vote-by-mail ballots and 4,866 drop-box ballots.

Republicans Returning at Higher Rates in Fresno County

The partisan breakdown shows that registration and ballot-return rates are producing a nearly even split among Democratic and Republican ballots in Fresno County.

Democrats have returned 40,956 ballots, accounting for about 41% of all ballots returned. Republicans have returned 39,779, or about 40%, while voters registered with no party preference or another party account for 18,385 ballots, or 19%.

Republicans, however, have returned a slightly larger percentage of the ballots mailed to their party.

About 23% of ballots mailed to Fresno County Republicans have been returned compared with 21% among Democrats and 11% among voters with no party preference or another party.

The county’s partisan composition has also shifted since 2022.

Democratic registration has remained nearly unchanged, declining from 196,900 in 2022 to 196,510 this year. Republican registration increased from 159,819 to 171,616, while the no-party-preference and other category climbed from 142,063 to 161,165.

Despite those registration changes, Democrats account for about the same 41% share of returned ballots they did at the comparable point in 2022. The Republican share has slipped from about 41% to 40%, while the share from other voters has risen from about 17% to 19%.

The figures identify voters by registration and do not show which candidates or measures they supported.

Fresno City Turnout Ahead

In the city of Fresno, 48,581 ballots had been returned through Oct. 29, representing 17.63% of 275,618 registered voters.

That is 8,015 more ballots than the 40,566 returned at the comparable point in 2022, when turnout stood at 15.52%.

Democratic voters account for 46% of ballots returned in Fresno this year, unchanged from the comparable 2022 share. Republicans account for 34%, down from about 36%, while no-party-preference and other voters make up 20%, up from about 18%.

Democrats have returned 22,397 ballots, or 20% of those mailed to them. Republicans have returned 16,660, or 22%, while 9,524 ballots have been returned by voters in the remaining registration categories, an 11% return rate.

Clovis Remains Heavily Republican Among Returns

Clovis continues to show a much different partisan profile.

Of 17,731 ballots returned, Republicans account for 50%, Democrats 32% and other voters 18%.

Overall turnout stands at 22.24%, the highest among the Fresno County cities included in the data. That compares with 20.53% at the equivalent point in 2022.

Clovis voters have turned in 2,707 more ballots than it had at the comparable 2022 point.

Republicans have returned 8,874 ballots, representing 26% of Republican ballots mailed, while Democrats have returned 5,693, representing 25%.

Despite the higher turnout, Clovis’ partisan share has changed little since 2022. Republicans represented 50% of returned ballots four years ago as well, while the Democratic share has edged from about 33% to 32%.

Reedley Shows One of Largest Partisan Shifts

Reedley stands out for a change in the partisan makeup of its returned ballots.

Democrats account for 43% of Reedley’s returned ballots this year, up from about 39% at the comparable point in 2022. Republicans account for 40%, down from about 46%.

The Democratic share has increased about 3.8 percentage points, while the Republican share has fallen about 5.4 points.

Overall, Reedley voters have returned 1,995 ballots, or 16.48% of registered voters. That is up from 1,677 ballots and 15.24% at the comparable point four years ago.

Kerman, Sanger Also Ahead of 2022

Kerman is running nearly 3 percentage points ahead of its comparable 2022 turnout, one of the larger increases among the cities included in the data.

That city’s voters have returned 1,353 ballots, representing 16.54% of registered voters, compared with 13.60% at the comparable 2022 point.

Democrats account for 49% of returned ballots in Kerman, Republicans 27%, and other voters 24%.

Sanger has also moved ahead of its 2022 pace, with 2,142 ballots returned, or 15.77% of registered voters. At the comparable point in 2022, turnout stood at 13.78%.

Democrats account for 53% of Sanger’s returned ballots, Republicans 30% and other voters 17%. Those proportions remain relatively close to 2022, when the split was about 54% Democratic, 29% Republican and 17% other.

Fowler, Kingsburg Have More Ballots but Slightly Lower Turnout Rates

Not every community is running ahead when measured as a percentage of registered voters.

Fowler voters have returned 793 ballots, 95 more than at the comparable point in 2022. But its turnout rate stands at 17.38%, slightly below the 17.99% recorded four years ago.

Its returned ballots are 45% Democratic, 35% Republican and 20% other. Compared with 2022, the Republican share has increased by about 2.7 percentage points while the other category has fallen about 3.6 points.

Kingsburg shows a similar pattern.

Voters there have turned in 1,556 ballots, 109 more than at the comparable point in 2022, but turnout stands at 19.06%, compared with 19.24% four years ago.

Republicans continue to account for a majority of returned ballots in Kingsburg at 56%, followed by Democrats at 28% and other voters at 16%.

Statewide Democratic Share Holds Steady

Statewide, Democratic voters account for 51% of returned ballots, Republicans 28% and voters with no party preference or another party 21%.

That composition is nearly identical to the comparable point in 2022.

Republican voters have returned about 24% of the ballots mailed to them statewide, compared with 23% among Democrats and 14% among other voters.

But because Democrats substantially outnumber Republicans in California registration, Democratic voters still account for more than half of all ballots returned.

The turnout figures remain an early snapshot. Millions of ballots remain outstanding across California, including more than 430,000 in Fresno County, and the partisan composition of returned ballots could change substantially as voting continues through Tuesday.

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