Absentee ballots make up half the votes in CA 48

[quaoar]

Plus, voters today said they are intensely interested in immigration, which might boost Gilchrist's totals.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=3698996

Just over 3 percent of the district's 405,000 registered voters had cast ballots at polling stations by midafternoon. About 62,000 absentee ballots were being tallied and those votes would probably make up nearly half the total vote, said Brett Rowley, a spokesman with the Orange County registrar of voters.

Those who cast ballots Tuesday consistently identified immigration reform as the top issue facing their district and the nation - whether they voted for Gilchrist or not. Orange County is less than a two-hour drive from the Mexican border.