LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — As election day arrives, the latest numbers show more than a third of Californians have already returned their vote-by-mail ballots.

Early ballot numbers updated by the California Secretary of State’s Office on Monday showed that 8,058,584 ballots have been cast out of 22,838,522 that have been issued.

That amounts to a 35.2% return rate.

In Lake County, 38,397 vote-by-mail ballots were issued and 9,438 had been returned by Monday, for a 24.5% return rate.

Of those ballots counted so far, 832 were returned at drop off locations, 1,135 were returned through drop boxes and 7,449 by mail.

So far, 99.45% of the ballots returned in Lake County have been accepted, with 52 under review, the Secretary of State’s Office reported.

Lake County’s early ballot return rate is the second-lowest statewide, based on a percentage analysis of all 58 counties.

The county with the lowest early ballot return rate is Imperial, with 23%. The highest rate is Sierra County’s 57%.

The overall ballot return rates for other counties in the region are as follows:

• Glenn: 37%.
• Humboldt: 37%.
• Mendocino: 39%.
• Napa: 38%.
• Sonoma: 45%.
• Tehama: 32%.
• Yolo: 41%.

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.