LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With just a week to go, millions of voters are taking part in early voting in California.

Those millions of California voters include several thousand Lake County residents who have so far cast ballots early.

The California Secretary of State’s Office reported that all registered voters were issued vote-by-mail ballots.

Based on the most recent totals available on Tuesday, of the 22,829,943 vote-by-mail ballots issued across California, 4,816,335 had been returned, amounting to 21% of registered voters, the Secretary of State’s Office reported.

The state’s numbers show that mail, followed by drop boxes and drop off locations, are the most popular ways of returning ballots.

In Lake County, 38,391 vote-by-mail ballots have been issued, with 5,790 of those ballots returned. That’s a 15% early return.

The overwhelming majority of Lake County’s ballots, 80%, have been returned by mail, compared to 11% in drop boxes and 7% at drop off locations.

Overall, 98.95% of the vote-by-mail ballots submitted in California so far have been accepted, the Secretary of State’s Office reported.

When Lake County’s early ballot return rate was at 13%, Political Data Inc., or PDI, completed an analysis of the county’s early vote count that showed Democrats leading Republicans with a 47% to 35% return rate, with other parties accounting for 20%.

PDI’s stats show the returned ballots by gender almost even between men and women, with people aged 65 and above accounting for the highest number of early ballots so far, at 64%, followed by 50 to 64 year olds at 24%, with 35 to 49 year old voters at 9% and those ages 18 to 34 at 5%.

The number of registered voters has grown in Lake County since the March primary.

In March, there were 36,561 registered voters, according to the Lake County Registrar of Voters. As of this week, there were 38,391 registered Lake County voters.

Lake County’s voter turnout is expected to grow substantially over the coming week.

Based on an analysis of presidential elections since 2000, voter turnout has usually topped 70%. In 2020, it was the highest during that period, topping 78%.

This year the number of registered voters, at more than 38,000, is at its highest reported historical level.

Early voting, same day voter registration and ballot drop off can take place at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office at 325 N. Forbes St., which also is the central counting place.

Early voting ends on Nov. 4.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Information is published below on ballot drop off locations and precinct locations for Election Day voting.

BALLOT DROP OFF LOCATIONS AND TIMES

24-hour dropoff locations

All sites close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.

Clearlake

Redbud Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road, Clearlake

Kelseyville

Child Support Services, 3980 Gard St.

Lakeport

Lake County Courthouse, 255 N Forbes St.

Lakeport Library, 1425 N High St.

Middletown

Middletown Library, 21267 Calistoga St.

Upper Lake

Upper Lake Library, 310 Second St.

PRECINCTS FOR THE NOV. 5 ELECTION

Clearlake

Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive

Highlands Senior Service Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.

Living Water Christian Fellowship (First Baptist Church), 14550 Pearl Ave.

Clearlake Oaks

Orchard Shores Clubhouse, 500 Orchard Shores Drive

Cobb

Little Red Schoolhouse, 15780 Bottle Rock Road

Finley

Clearlake Grange (Big Valley Grange/Hall), 1510 Big Valley Road

Hidden Valley Lake

HVL Community Services District Office, 19400 Hartmann Road

Kelseyville

Buckingham Homeowner’s Association, 2850 Eastlake Drive

Galilee Lutheran Church, 8860 Soda Bay Road

Kelseyville Presbyterian Church Hall, 5340 Third St.

Lakeport

Lake County Office of Education (Kesey Room), 1152 S. Main St.

Lakeport Senior Activity Center, 527 Konocti Ave.

LDS Church, 600 16th St.

Scotts Valley Women’s Clubhouse, 2298 Hendricks Road

Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 1111 Park Way

Lower Lake

Lower Lake Methodist Church Social Hall, 16255 Second St.

Lucerne

Lutheran Church Parish Hall, 3863 Country Club Drive

Middletown

Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center, 15500 Central Park Road

Nice

Community Baptist Church, 2877 E. Highway 20

Upper Lake

North Shore Christian Fellowship, 9456 Main St.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.