As the minutes tick away until polls close in California, voters are turning out in large numbers today. Absentee and mail-in ballots are being counted now at the elections office in Tuolumne County.

County Clerk and elections official Tim Johnson says ballots had been prepared earlier this week to have them ready to run through the optical scanners.

“After eight o´clock comes, 8:01, we can, hopefully, about an half hour after the polls close, then we can start running results from the absentee ballots that we received here at our office and the vote by mail precincts with in the county,” Johnson said.

After that is done, the elections officials wait for the polling place inspectors to arrive in downtown Sonora to drop off their ballots.

Johnson hopes that final counts will be compleated by 11 p.m. tonight.