Many L.A. voters chose to vote early this year. (Neon Tommy)

Early voting could be the cause for the lag in voter turnout in Los Angeles County on Election Day, said an official from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office.

As of 1 p.m., voter turnout in the county was at about 32 percent --10 percent less than the number of voters who turned out at this time on Election Day in 2008.

Angie Comer, a media coordinator for the Registrar’s office attributed the decrease to the number of voters who already submitted their ballots by mail.

“We’ve had a huge voter turnout in mail-in ballots this year so I think that was definitely it. A lot of people voted early,” Comer said. 

Almost 250,000 more absentee ballots were requested this year in comparison to four years ago.

Read more of Neon Tommy's election night coverage here.

Reach staff reporter Jackie Mansky here.