Encinitas tallies 45,712 voters for Nov. 3 election

Encinitas has 45,712 registered voters for the Nov. 3 election, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters' report of registration dated Oct. 21. Democrats hold a nearly 2-to-1 registration edge over Republicans.

Democrats account for 20,117 registrations, or 44% of the city's electorate. Republicans hold 11,220, or 24.5%. Voters with no party preference make up 10,878, or 23.8%.

The remaining 7.7% is split among the American Independent Party at 2,584, the Libertarian Party at 581, the Green Party at 217 and the Peace and Freedom Party at 115.

The figures are based on the Oct. 19 registration close date. Voters who missed that deadline can still register conditionally and cast a provisional ballot in person at a vote center or the registrar's office, according to CBS 8.

Encinitas' registration total is a small slice of San Diego County's 2,034,153 registered voters. Countywide, Democrats lead with 828,474 registrations, followed by Republicans at 551,805 and no-party-preference voters at 511,054.

Three local races are on the ballot.

Mayor Bruce Ehlers faces challenger Rimga Viskanta, a San Dieguito Union High School District trustee, for a two-year mayoral term. In District 3, community organizer Arielle Golden is running against retired firefighter and professor Ed Sprague. In District 4, appointed Council Member Marco San Antonio faces small business owner Brad Lefkowits. Both council seats carry four-year terms, according to the city's municipal elections page.

Statewide, early ballot returns are running low. About 1.7 million ballots had been returned as of Oct. 20, representing 7% of registered California voters, CBS 8 reported. Mitchell and political strategists said in that report they anticipate participation consistent with a nonpresidential election year.

In San Diego County, Registrar of Voters Shawn Brom said his office had mailed more than 2 million ballots and that the return pace was higher than in the June primary and the last gubernatorial general election. "If you return it early, we will be putting that in the first unofficial election night results," Brom told CBS 8 on Oct. 15.

Select vote centers open Saturday, Oct. 24, with all centers opening Saturday, Oct. 31. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 2, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.