Here’s something to do while the storms rage outside:  vote early.

Alameda County Registrar Dave Macdonald announced new weekend hours today, due to the increasing demand over the past week.  When early voting opened last weekend, the registrar reported about 1,000 citizens showed up each day.  This increased to 1,400 on Thursday and 5,000 by Friday afternoon.

The Alameda County Registrar enables Oaklanders to vote early and avoid the Election Day throngs.  The Registrar will stay open every day through November 4th.  As noted above, you can vote on Saturday or Sunday, between 10:00am – 5:00pm.  The office will also be open on Monday from 8:30am – 5:00pm.

On Election Day, you may also drive down to their office between 7:00am – 8:00pm but it will be easier to stop by your local polling place instead.  If you want to confirm where to vote, then click here and enter your address.  I’m sure every neighborhood place will be jammed, so plan ahead to wait in line on the big day.

The Registrar has reported some impressive voter stats, and it will interesting to see how many residents ultimately cast their ballots next week.  For this election, there were 803,009 registered voters in Alameda County.  Some 370,000 vote-by-mail ballots have been distributed and 185,000 were returned as of today.

More info:   The Registrar’s Office is located at 1225 Fallon Street (map).  If you have questions, then please call (510) 272-6973.  Read more about California propositions and local measures here.