GILROY
– The steady streams of voters seen less than a month ago when
Californians were deciding whether to oust their governor were not
present at Gilroy polling places this frosty Tuesday morning.
GILROY – The steady streams of voters seen less than a month ago when Californians were deciding whether to oust their governor were not present at Gilroy polling places this frosty Tuesday morning.
Less than a month ago, eager voters stood 10 deep when the Hart family raised its garage door at 7 a.m. to open the polls. In the first half-hour of voting at the Hart residence polling place today, barely half a dozen voters cast ballots, indicating voter turnout in this City Council election will more likely reach the usual 25 percent mark rather than the nearly 50 percent turnout seen during the recall election Oct. 7.
“Only two people were lined up this time,” said Ruby Hart, the owner of the home off Westwood Drive that doubles as a polling place on election days.
“Of course it was a lot warmer last time, too,” added Norm Thompson, a poll worker at the Hart residence.
Today’s election marks the first time Santa Clara County voters will use touch-screen machines to cast their ballots.
By 8 a.m. poll workers were reporting mixed reactions to the machines by voters.
At South Valley Middle School poll workers said one of the first voters Tuesday morning left “frustrated” when he could not correct a voting mistake he made. According to poll workers, the voter only voted for one City Council candidate instead of the allowable three.
The computer gives voters a chance to review their ballots before casting them officially. However, the man approved his ballot before realizing he did not vote for three City Council candidates.
“It’s just new, and I think we’re going to have these problems for a while until everyone gets used to the system,” poll worker Jean Lance said. “By next time, I think everything will be all right.”
Another South Valley Middle School poll worker, Dolores Corrales, noticed a potential hiccup for Spanish speaking voters. At one point in the balloting, the touch-screen machine uses the Spanish word “repasar” to tell voters to review their ballot.
“That means ‘review’ in formal Spanish, but in the Spanish many people speak around here that means something else,” Corrales said. “To me, it means something like ‘press’ or ‘push down.’ ”
For voter Art Bannister, who needed barely two minutes to cast his vote digitally, the new machines are a piece of cake.
“It was real nice, very simple to use,” Bannister said.
Bannister, 81, said he does not use a computer at home. Critics of the touch-screen machine, among other concerns, worried that voters who are not computer literate would be confused by the new system.
“One voter this morning said the machines are ‘very intuitive’ if you’re someone who uses a computer regularly,” said Hart, the poll worker.
Hart, who along with other poll workers received three hours of training on the new system, described setting up the machines at her residence as tedious but problem free. Nonetheless, Hart, who has worked the polls since 1979, is one of those who will need time to adjust to a digital system.
“For me, I have about as much faith in these machines as I do the computer in my house,” Hart quipped. Gilroyans decide today who will make up the majority of a City Council that is losing its mayor, Tom Springer, and has three vacant at-large seats. After 8 p.m. today, results will be available on The Dispatch Web site (www.gilroydispatch.com) which will have results and candidate reaction updated throughout the evening and also on the county registrar’s Web site (www.sccvote.org).
Candidates in the mayoral race are Lupe Arellano, Ellyn Atkins, Mary Hohenbrink and Al Pinheiro. City Council hopefuls include Peter Arellano, Dion Bracco, Paul Correa, Mark Dover, Bruce Morasca, Russ Valiquette and Roland Velasco.
Since 1991, a Gilroy City Council election has never garnered more than 40.2 percent voter turnout. In 2001, Gilroy’s voter apathy hit a 10-year low when only 27.4 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
As of last week, 17,295 residents were registered to vote in Gilroy.
Polls are open until 8 p.m. For information on polling locations, residents can contact City Clerk Rhonda Pellin at 846-0204.
