Though she expected things to pick up between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. ? when voters were getting off of work ? Peterson said there would likely be only a few hundred total voters for that spot.
"This is just the primary," she said. Among the candidates and issues on the ballot Tuesday was the primary for governor, a locally hot race between democratic candidates for the 43rd Assembly District and two state bond measures.
Proposition 81 would issue a bond of no more than $600 million to fund the construction and renovation of public libraries across the state, and Proposition 82 would establish a volunteer preschool education system for all four-year olds, funded through a 1.7% tax on individuals with income more than $400,000 and couples with income more than $800,000.
"I think the primary election attracts less voter interest," said Tony Pearson, a voting inspector at St. Gregory Armenian Church, where two precincts were represented.
The two precincts ? each representing about 800 active voters ? had less than 100 voters each by 1 p.m. Tuesday.
"I think there hasn't been a lot of intra-party contention, only that between [democratic gubernatorial candidates Steve] Westly and [Phil] Angelides," Pearson said.
Low voter turnout disappointed Glendale resident Manuel Ramirez, who exercised his voting rights on Tuesday.
"It's bad," he said. "Everybody should come and give power to the people."
For Glendale resident Marilyn Chulack, voting is a civic duty.
"I always vote," she said. "It's every citizen's responsibility."
While low voter turnout made voting a snap for most, there were problems at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School Tuesday morning that resulted in voters being sent to Glendale Fire Station 24 to cast provisional ballots until about 8:30 a.m., Verdugo Woodlands Principal Janet Buhl said. .
"Unfortunately, the registrar's office had nobody here to man the polls," Buhl said.
At 7 a.m., when the polls were scheduled to open, the inspector for that polling site did not show up and only one volunteer with no prior election experience was at the school, she said.
"We spent like two hours over the phone calling the county registrar's office, trying to get people over here," she said.
By about 8:30 a.m. the registrar's office designated the husband of one of the school's teachers as an official voting inspector, Buhl said.
