Ryan Carter
Thousands of local registered voters did not turn out for this week's
primary election, and those who did, did not strictly vote along
party lines.
In Glendale, where 80,821 people are eligible to vote, 19,764
people voted, or 24.5%. But in La Canada Flintridge, where two
crucial schools-related measures and a hotly contested Republican
primary race in the 44th Assembly District made headlines, 41% of
registered voters went to the polls -- 5,276 out of 12,828 eligible.
In unincorporated Montrose, 690 of 2,415, or 28.6%, of registered
voters cast ballots. In unincorporated La Crescenta, 35.1% of
registered voters -- 2,685 of 7,641 -- went to the polls. The numbers
hovered around the preliminary turnout results for all of Los Angeles
County, but in some local cases, they were lower.
"We haven't certified elections results yet, but in preliminary
random sampling, we have seen that turnout is about 34% of eligible
voters," said Grace Chavez, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County
Registrar's Office. "Turnouts fluctuate from year to year."
For instance, in the 2000 presidential primary, 48.2% of eligible
voters in the county turned out to vote. The numbers also shed some
light on whom voters favored. Local primary races in which opponents
of the same party squared off included the 44th Assembly District,
the 29th and 26th Congressional districts. In Glendale -- a city of
32,557 registered Republicans and 29,804 registered Democrats -- the
votes were fairly split, with 8,920 Republican ballots cast versus
8,298 Democrats, but they did not split their votes for candidates.
In the 29th Congressional District incumbent Rep. Adam Schiff
(D-Glendale) received 6,423 votes in Glendale, and the winner of the
Republican primary for the district, Pasadena attorney Harry
Scolinos, won 3,430, or 40%, of the Republican votes. More than 5,100
Democrats in Glendale voted for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to run
against President George W. Bush in November.
The lack of votes for candidates in the races for the 29th could
reflect anything from voter apathy to protest, said Mona Field, a
political science professor at Glendale Community College.
In Schiff's case, it could be because "he's a moderate Democrat
and these are left-wing voters turning out," Field said, adding that
in primaries, the more extreme wings of both parties are energized.
In the 44th Assembly District, Republican challenger Dave Wilcox,
a La Canada Flintridge resident, won the city's voters but lost the
primary to Lynn Gabriel. In the city, he won 1,355 voters to 1,034
for Gabriel.
All local areas voted in favor of Propositions 57 and 58, the
state measures that issue a one-time $15-billion bond and require a
balanced state budget each year. Both measures passed the state vote
as well.
La Canada Flintridge, Glendale, La Crescenta and Montrose voters
cast more votes against Proposition 55, the measure allowing for a
$12-billion school bond. The measure won statewide approval.
The majority of local voters also cast ballots against Proposition
56, the measure that would have allowed the Legislature to enact a
budget and tax-related appropriations with a 55% vote rather than a
two-thirds majority. Voters across the state did not pass the
measure.
