As early voting gets underway in CA, experts explain why it's more important than ever this election

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- The countdown to Election Day is on, and on Monday, early voting officially got underway in the state of California.

It was buzzing behind the scenes at the Santa Clara County Registrar's Office on the first day of early voting.

The Santa Clara County employees there were hard at work gearing up for the ballots expected to start coming in by mail and from those who voted in person.

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"It's already feeling like a historic election," said Michael Borja, Spokesperson of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office. "It's really, really busy. Today coming into work, there's a lot of our, staff that usually helps us. There's just like all lining up to go in and help, uphold this democracy and I'm very excited."

Many voters are also excited, officials at the registrar's office said that several people were lined up at the door before it opened to vote in person.

Some of the early voters say having the choice to cast their ballot early is a relief.

"I couldn't wait for my ballot to come into the mail," said Jeanne Wun, a San Jose resident. "I'm getting on a plane tomorrow morning, and in order to make sure my vote is cast and in the mail, was to come into the Registrar's Office this morning."

Early voting doesn't just make things convenient for many voters, it can also help make things more efficient for California registrar's offices which can start processing ballots as they come in.

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"The sooner they come in, the sooner our local election officials can get those ballots processed," said Dr. Melissa Michelson, Menlo College Professor of Political Science. "And then there's less to do on Election Day."

Still, Michelson says early voting may not be for everyone.

"For other people, they're continuing to gather information, maybe they're not sure, maybe they're waiting to see if there's some late-breaking story or scandal, and those folks can wait," she said.

Though Election Day is creeping closer right now, voters and potential voters have to make their voices heard.

Vote-by-mail ballots have been sent to active registered voters and should be received in the coming days.

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For those who haven't registered yet, the deadline is Oct. 21, after only provisional, Same Day Voter registration is allowed.

Ballots must either be put in an official drop box, mailed or completed in person by Nov. 5 at 8 p.m.

Ballots sent by mail that were postmarked by Nov. 5 have until Nov. 12 to be received and counted.

While counties may start processing ballots, results won't be released until after 8 p.m. on Election Day.