June 5, 2012 - By the numbers

Paper: U-T San Diego (CA)
Title: By the numbers
Date: June 5, 2012
Compiled by: Merrie Monteagudo

$10.4  Million - Estimated cost of today's election

County Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler estimates that today's election will cost $10.4 million. There will be 5,779 poll workers staffing 1,432 precincts. Some of the more unusual polling places include a bowling alley in San Marcos, two boxing gyms, three pet-grooming or boarding businesses, a pizza restaurant and six funeral homes.

Party affiliation

As of April, San Diego ranked fifth among California counties with the highest percentage of nonpartisan registered voters. One in four registered voters in the region has declined to pick a party affiliation.

Current voter registration by party affiliation

County

Democrat 516,264 35%
Republican 514,558 35%
Other 72,453 5%
No party preference 361,994 25%
Total 1,465,269 100%

City

Democrat 254,740 40%
Republican 178,313 28%
Other 30,652 5%
No party preference 169,232 27%
Total 632,937 100%

Vote by mail

65% - Mail-in responses for June 2010 primary

More than half those who vote in San Diego County cast ballots by mail. According to county figures, 55 percent of local voters mailed in their ballots in the November 2010 general election, in contrast to the statewide figure of 48 percent. The June 2010 primary drew an even larger number of mail-in responses — 65 percent. A record 761,000 mail ballots were issued in advance of today's primary election.

Presidential primaries

74% - Registered voters countywide who participated in the 1976 presidential primary

• In the last presidential primary in February 2008, 797,043 San Diego County voters cast ballots. That was 61 percent of registered voters and 39 percent of total eligible voters in the county. Voter participation in a presidential primary was at its highest since 1976, when a record 74 percent of registered voters countywide, and nearly 73 percent statewide, cast ballots.

• Voter turnout is always highest in presidential election years. Over the past three decades, half (49.4 percent) of all registered voters in San Diego County generally cast ballots in presidential primaries.

• Participation in the general election during presidential election years is even higher. In 2008, 84 percent of registered voters in the county, and 79 percent statewide, cast ballots in the November general election. The record was set during the close Kennedy-Nixon election in 1960, when 88 percent of registered voters in both the state and county cast votes.

Languages

Starting with today's primary election, San Diego County will provide election materials in Chinese as well as English, Tagalog (Filipino), Spanish and Vietnamese. Under the Federal Voting Rights Act, states are required to provide bilingual voting assistance to help voters with limited English proficiency participate in the democratic process.

Proponents of the multilanguage voter information note that Latino and Filipino-American voter registration increased by 21 percent in San Diego County, and that Vietnamese-American registration increased by 37 percent, after the county complied with the Voting Rights Act.

Every vote counts

3 - In 1995, voters in Julian passed a $2.5 million school bond by just three votes

• In 2002, Santee Councilwoman Lori Howard lost her seat to John Minto by nine votes — the closest city race in Santee history.

• In 1994, Denise Moreno Ducheny edged out Chula Vista Mayor Tim Nader by 28 votes in the 79th Assembly District special election on April 12, making it one of the closest legislative races in county history.

Tie goes to the runner

In most cases, state election law allows ties to be resolved by "lot." That can mean flipping a coin, choosing straws or pulling a name from a hat.

• In 1992, two candidates deadlocked with 1,044 votes apiece in the Nov. 3 election to select a director for the Ramona Municipal Water District's Division 3. Bob Krysak won the coin toss over Ken Thompson.

• In 1999, a tie was broken in the Valley Center Union School District race by drawing numbers from a hat. Wendy Zeugschmidt prevailed in the drawing after tying her opponent, Jerry Armstrong, with 1,722 votes in the election.

• Jose A. Lopez won his seat the Otay Water District Board in 2000 on a coin toss after he and his opponent tied in the Nov. 7 election. Lopez and Reuben Rodriguez had each received 2,597 votes for the Division 4 seat.

History

• The first municipal elections were held in San Diego when it was still a Mexican Pueblo in 1835. Juan Maria Osuna was elected the first "alcalde," or mayor.

• The first elections under American rule took place in 1850. Voters cast ballots for a district attorney, county judge, county clerk, county attorney, county surveyor, sheriff, coroner and county treasurer on April 1. The city election was held June 16, and Joshua H. Bean (the older brother of the famous Judge Roy Bean) was chosen as the first mayor.

E-voting experiment

The county bought a $31 million electronic voting system from Diebold that malfunctioned during the March 2004 primary when a battery problem caused more than one-third of polling places to open late. Some people didn't vote.

A month later, then-Secretary of State Kevin Shelley banned San Diego and three other counties from using the machines for that fall's general election, and they sat on the sidelines until they were recertified in 2006. They were in full use in November 2006, and no major problems were reported.

The following year, then-Secretary of State Debra Bowen effectively banned touch-screen voting, citing an independent review that found machines made by three manufacturers could be easily manipulated. This forced a return to paper ballots.

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Edition: First Edition
Section: Main News
Page: A-3
Column: 2012 PRIMARY ELECTION
Index Terms: ELECTIONS; STATISTICS.
Record Number: UTS2290801
Copyright 2012, U-T San Diego