The rising trend of mail-in voting kept polling stations in
South County church-mouse quiet this morning. Voters trickled in to
cast ballots. Primary elections in June tend to have low turnouts,
but today’s numbers were particularly low.
By the numbers
538,745: Vote-by-mail ballots issued
159,479: Vote-by-mail ballots returned
*As of June 6
The rising trend of mail-in voting kept polling stations in South County church-mouse quiet this morning.
Voters trickled in to cast ballots. Primary elections in June tend to have low turnouts, but today’s numbers were particularly low.
“We may be the dinosaurs of the past,” said Dennis Hite, precinct inspector at the Gilroy High School polling place.
About 60 percent to 70 percent of the people in the precinct vote by mail, Hite said. As of 10 a.m. in Gilroy, most polling places had fewer than 20 voters, although several people came to drop off their mail-in ballots.
Those who did show up to the polls tended to come out of obligation rather than for a particular passion.
“I just vote all the time,” said Ernie Bellezza, who dropped off a mail-in ballot at the Masonic Temple.
M.A. Bowe, who showed up at the Gilroy High School polling place, said she looked into the various candidates, but she still stressed that it was only a primary election.
“It’s just a step, and you’ve got to do it,” she said.
A turnout of between 35 and 45 percent is expected countywide for today’s election, according to Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters spokeswoman Elma Rosas. Of that turnout, about 22 percent have already voted by mailing their ballots to the county office.
Countywide, a total of 547,126 mail-in ballots were issued, including 12,650 in Gilroy, where there are 18,327 registered voters, according to Rosas.
Duane Linstrom, an election officer at the Sunrise Fire Station polling place, said he even had to write down what he voted for so that he would remember when the results were announced.
That’s not to say there was nothing on the ballot that interested voters.
Diana Bentz, precinct inspector at the Sunrise Fire Station polling place, said she is an avid supporter of Dolores Carr for district attorney. She felt free to discuss her views, as there were no voters in the fire station at the time.
“That’s a big deal,” she said of the DA’s race. “The DA is the chief law enforcement officer in the county.”
Jerry Seelie, who dropped his ballot off at the Sunrise station, wanted to see change, although he would not elaborate.
“I feel we need a bunch of changes,” Seelie said. “I just know what I like and what I don’t like.”
Most poll workers throughout the morning sat along long tables, casually chatting with each other while looking at empty voting booths.
“It becomes a long boring day after awhile,” said Frank Valencia, an election officer at the Masonic Temple.
Morgan Hill residents who did show up at the polls to vote the old-fashioned way mostly did so because they think it’s their duty, and many were motivated by what they see as a need for changes in California.
“If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain,” said Armando Abella, who cast his ballot this morning at the Jackson Oaks Clubhouse. “And you have no right to blame the government for what’s going on.”
Also voting in the east Morgan Hill neighborhood was Gerrie Kammelaar. She’s a self-described “constitutional conservative” who participates in local “Tea Party” demonstrations.
“California is run by extremely liberal democrats, and they’ve run the state into the ground,” Kammelaar said, noting the governor’s and senator’s races were the most important issues on today’s ballot for her.
Voting and peacefully demonstrating are “about the only thing I can do,” she said.
Election officials and volunteers hadn’t heard any reports of long lines, faulty equipment, campaign violations or other complications at polling places throughout the county before lunch time.
“The precincts are all staffed very well, the signage is very good, nobody’s irate, and nobody’s been turned away,” said Kathy Andrade, volunteer field inspector for Morgan Hill’s polling places.
In Morgan Hill, where there are 18,149 registered voters, 13,043 mail-in ballots were sent out, she said.
Even most of those who have showed up in person so far have simply dropped off their ballots, already filled out and sealed in blue envelopes, instead of filling out a ballot on-site at the polling places.
At the Morgan Hill Bible Church, a polling place for about 780 local voters on the southwest side of town, only about six people voted in the booth before 9:30 a.m., according to volunteers there.
One of those was Lubeomira Busistei, who has voted in every American election since she became a U.S. citizen in 1974. Her native country is Poland, now a democracy but once heavily influenced by the former Soviet Union.
“I’m from Poland so I understand how important voting is,” Busistei said. “I study every vote, and I try to do my best.”
Across town at El Toro Elementary School, voter Jeff Reid said, “It’s good to vote. I have a couple of young kids, it’s important to take the opportunity to vote so they see the importance.”
Diana Galloway said she has voted since she turned 18 – something she has tried to instill in her children.
“I’m always harping on my kids to vote,” Galloway said at P.A. Walsh Elementary School this morning. “I need my opinion to be heard.”
Robert Collins of Morgan Hill said fiscal responsibility is high on his list of issues that he is monitoring. California is much too deep in debt, Collins said, “I want to see us act more responsibly.”
Voting should be taken seriously, Collins said.
“I think if we don’t vote, it mocks the graves of the people that have fought to give us our freedom. Without voting we give up our right to complain when we don’t like the way things are going,” he said.
The precinct at Ann Sobrato High School only saw three voters before 10 a.m. Even Janet Jeske, a resident of Hacienda Mobile Estates, showed up to deliver her neighbor’s ballot.
“She’s 91 years old. She filled it out, and I’m taking it over. She would not have been able to do it if she didn’t have some help,” said Jeske, who mailed her ballot in before election day.
“It’s my civic duty to vote,” she added.
Precinct inspectors noted that most people are voting by mail, causing polling places throughout Gilroy to remain mostly empty.
On today’s primary ballot are five state constitutional propositions, South County’s Supervisor District One race, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s race, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s race, party primaries for both the 27th and 28th state assembly districts, the 11th and 15th U.S. Congressional districts’ Republican primaries, Republicans vying for a U.S. Senate seat, and a host of Republicans, Democrats and independents running for governor.
The polls close at 8 p.m., and all ballots should be turned in or filled out by then in order to be counted, Rosas said.
