FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — With Election Day fast approaching, Fresno County election officials say voter participation is already outpacing the last two gubernatorial primaries, signaling what could be one of the strongest turnouts in decades.

The day before elections, there was a steady flow of voters dropping off ballots across the county. While thousands have already cast their votes, election officials emphasize there is still plenty of time for voters to participate.

In fact, Fresno County officials say Election Day itself is traditionally when the majority of ballots are submitted.

For veteran Frank Chaldele, voting is both a responsibility and a privilege.

“I am not the kind of person who thinks my vote doesn’t count,” Chaldele said after dropping off his ballot.

When asked which races were most important to him this election cycle, Chaldele and other voters like Gwendolyn Young-Davis said he carefully reviewed all of them.

“All of them, really,” Young-Davis said. “We’ve had some council members and various positions, senators, but I probably think the most important one was governor.”

Chaldele also highlighted the race for California Insurance Commissioner as one of the contests he was paying close attention to this year.

According to the Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, there are just under 530,000 registered voters in Fresno County. So far, approximately 80,000 ballots have been submitted, and election officials expect that number to double in the coming days.

“We are ahead of the last two primaries and potentially might have the best turnout in Fresno County in a gubernatorial primary for 20 years,” said Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters James Kus.

As ballots continue to come in, election officials are reminding voters to carefully review their selections before submitting their ballots.

One of the most common mistakes being reported this election is voters selecting more than one candidate in the governor’s race.

“You only get to vote once for one candidate,” Kus said. “We have had a few voters indicate that they voted more than once.”

Election officials warn that ballots marked for multiple candidates in the governor’s race will not count for that contest.

“If you turn in a ballot with more than one candidate marked for governor, it won’t count,” Kus said.

Kus says election security remains a top priority. More than 400 workers are involved in the county’s election operations, including securing ballots collected from vote centers.

“With every ballot that’s cast in our vote centers, they’re being picked up every single night and returned to secure storage,” Kus said.

While federal observers have visited Fresno County during previous elections, Kus says he has not heard from federal law enforcement agencies this election cycle. However, he says their presence would not be unusual.

“There’s a lot of groups that want to just make sure that everyone has full access and everything’s done correctly,” Kus said.

I also asked whether there have been any reports of electioneering in Fresno County. Kus says there have been no significant incidents reported so far.

Election officials are reminding voters that electioneering — attempting to persuade voters to support or oppose a candidate, political party, or ballot measure — is prohibited within 100 feet of a polling place or vote center.

That includes wearing shirts, buttons, or other campaign-related materials featuring candidates who appear on the ballot when entering a voting location.

With turnout already running ahead of previous gubernatorial primaries, election officials are encouraging residents to make a plan to vote before the deadline and ensure their ballots are submitted on time.