Record turnout expected as voters surge to polls around Bay Area

Voters rushed to the polls in record numbers around the Bay Area for Tuesday’s mid-term elections — many galvanized by frustrations over growing national political tensions and fierce debate over the region’s housing crisis.

At City Hall in San Francisco, voting booths were immediately filled up when the polls opened at 7 a.m. Some people sat at tables near the entrance, filling out their ballots while others stood in corners, looking up different propositions and candidates on their phones before filling in their votes.

“We are looking at the highest voter turnout in San Francisco at least since 1974, said John Arntz, the Director of the Department of Elections in San Francisco.