Orange County voters face long lines as officials urge them to stay

Orange County voters faced long lines Tuesday as election officials said anyone in line by the 8 p.m. closing time could still vote if they stayed, according to Voice of OC.

The delays extended beyond California’s poll closing time. For Orange County voters already waiting, staying in line was the condition for being able to cast a ballot, Registrar of Voters Bob Page said, according to Voice of OC.

At 8:30 p.m., the county’s election wait-time dashboard showed 29 polling sites with waits of 20 to 40 minutes, according to Voice of OC. Another 40 sites listed waits exceeding 41 minutes.

Those figures came with a caveat: The publication reported that some sites’ wait times had not been updated recently.

Page said voter arrivals rose between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. He also said the ballot was longer than in previous years, requiring voters to spend more time marking their choices, Voice of OC reported.

Marie Chuy Lucatero, 53, a Santa Ana resident, reported waiting more than an hour in the Registrar of Voters line in central Santa Ana. She had expected a quick visit before church but said voting mattered, according to the publication.

Monica Herrera, 26, a Santa Ana resident who works as a nanny, had waited 40 minutes after leaving work early to vote. She said she wanted better leadership in Santa Ana, particularly amid ICE raids, Voice of OC reported.

In a Tuesday text message, Page reiterated that voters who had joined the line by 8 p.m. should remain there and would be able to cast their ballots, according to Voice of OC.