Samantha Rivera had a big day Monday.
“I wanna cry,” she said. “I thought that my vote didn’t matter.”
She voted for the first time in her life, joining others at the Santa Clara Registrar of Voters who voted early and in person Monday.
"Today I said instead of dealing with the big crowds tomorrow, I'd rather come a day early and get it done with,” said Morris Ceesay of San Jose.
"I feel like people are excited to experience it,” said Evelyn Mendez of the Santa Clara Registrar of Voters. “To walk in, to hand it to someone, to put their sticker on, to get a flag."
Inside Santa Clara’s Central Park Library, there was a similar scene.
“I think I would be a little bit nervous to do it on the day of,” said Angelina Valenza of Santa Clara. “I just wanted to make sure everything was put through, I was ready to go, and I had all my ducks in a row. I want to be a part of it."
Voters lined up early to get it done.
“I just wanted to make sure I got my vote in so I wasn't trying to rush it on Tuesday,” said a Santa Clara County voter.
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As of Monday afternoon, the registrar of voters said that about 40% of the county’s registered voters had cast a ballot.
