Several polling locations in Gilroy were reporting lower than expected voter walk-in and drop-offs in tune with predictions by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters of low overall voter turnout.
Not just slow, “super slow.”
That’s what bilingual poll volunteer Rose Zuno had to say about voter turnout while stationed at Familia Para Christo Church in Gilroy, a first-of-its-kind polling location in Gilroy on the 8900 block of Monterey Road.
Zuno and two fellow volunteers reported 11 voters total reporting during the June 3 Primary Election as of roughly 3 p.m.
Quiet day at the polls
The slow and sparse voter walk-ins came in light of what Santa Clara County election officials predicted as a low overall voter turnout for the June 3 balloting with drop-offs dominating the day’s polling.
At Gilroy High School where volunteers Loreen Down, Sonia Alegre, Lourdes Arellano-Perez and Walt Glines manned the precinct polling booths, only a trickle of voters popped in and out of the polls. Eight of 200 non vote-by-mail ballots were cast or delivered by mid-afternoon. Vote-by-mail voters in that precinct far outnumbered walk-ins with an estimated 500 ballots cast vote-by-mail.
“I understand it’s going to be very slow,” Dow said.
County elections officials estimated a roughly 35 percent total registered voter turnout for the June 3 primary, according to
Santa Clara County Assistant Registrar of Voters Matt Moreles.
Of the voters who turn out in an election like this, roughly 80 percent vote-by-mail (or by drop-off), and 20 percent go to the polls, Moreles said.
Among the 20 percent were Gilroyans Larry and Ruth Ann Eggers, who voted at Gilroy Public Library.
The couple makes it their duty to vote in each election, and although they both cited the increasing difficulty in getting to know candidates, they wanted to vote regardless.
“We believe it’s our right,” Ruth Ann said. “Use it or lose it.”
Inside Gilroy Public Library, Martin Oliverez reported roughly 40 drop-offs and 19 walk-ins where Antonella Millett, a disabled volunteer from Gilroy, joined fellow volunteers during a slow day at the polls joined by her service dog, Piccolino, and pointed to the disabled opportunities for volunteers like herself.
“It’s slower than I expected,” Oliverez said.
Despite the expected low turnout, election officials are required by state law to fully staff the precincts, Moreles explained. The number of precincts, as well as the volunteer staff and bilingual volunteers required at each polling place, is determined by formulas based on the number of registered voters in each geographical area.
“Regardless of the expected turnout, you have to have a fully staffed number of polling places,” Moreles said.
Hot contests?
The Gilroy ballot includes the governor’s primary, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, U.S. Congress, state assembly, uncontested First District County Supervisor and other statewide races, several of which are uncontested. There are no local Gilroy or Morgan Hill-specific ballot measures for June 3. In San Benito County, the majority of the primary ballot remains uncontested on the local front. Officials expected the District 4 county board race and San Benito High School campus improvement bond to boost voter turnout, however.
In a contested race, Santa Clara County Sheriff incumbent Laurie Smith is being challenged by retired local sheriff’s captain Kevin Jensen. The sheriff’s race seems to have more interest among South County voters, likely because that office is more active in the unincorporated rural areas than within the boundaries of larger cities to the north, said Terry Christensen, a retired political science professor at San Jose State University.
“This is the toughest contest Laurie Smith has faced since her first election” in 1998, Christensen said. “I suspect she’ll win anyway because she is a pretty firmly established incumbent with a lot of support, but there’s clearly discontent.”
State Measure 41 asks voters to support a $600 million bond for affordable housing for veterans and their families.
Measure 42 would require local cities, counties and other agencies to pay for their own costs to comply with open meetings and public records requirements. Currently the state government reimburses the locals for those costs.
Christensen said the lack of high-profile races on Tuesday’s ballot will contribute to the low turnout.
“All the statewide offices are up, but there’s not really a hot contest for any of those,” Christensen said. “(Governor) Jerry Brown is going to walk away with first place, and the Republican candidates have not been very visible” in that race.
Although the ballot features two state measures, these are sponsored by the legislature rather than citizens and are therefore not controversial except to “insiders,” Christensen said.
Christensen cited “growing voter cynicism” as an increasingly influential trend keeping voters home, and that might be a factor in Tuesday’s primary.
No long lines, delays
Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder’s office is predicting a smooth day at the polls with no long lines or delays.
“We expect it to be a pretty smooth day,” Moreles said.
The predicted low overall turnout is partly due to typical low interest in primaries, though even 35 percent would be “at the low end” for most primary elections in Santa Clara County, Moreles said. Primary elections with no U.S. Presidential race on the ballot “generally (have) less voter awareness and less voter enthusiasm.”
Some areas such as San Jose, where the ballot features a crowded field for the mayor’s race, might see a higher than average turnout when the ballot counting is finished Tuesday night, Moreles added.
More information
To find out where your polling place is, call the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office at (408) 299-VOTE or (408) 299-8683. To view a sample ballot go to the registrar’s website at sccgov.org/sites/rov. Polls close at 8 p.m. Absentee or vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off at any precinct in the county, according to election officials.
— City/online editor Josh Petray contributed to this report
