trickblue
02-05-2008, 04:11 PM
Link (http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-calvote6feb06,1,750964.story?ctrack=1&cset=true)
Glitches are the early front-runner in California
Some voters encounter locked doors and other delays as they turn out for the state's pivotal primary.
By Tiffany Hsu, Paloma Esquivel and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
At least two Los Angeles-area polling places were shuttered this morning when voters showed up to cast their ballots, and other polling sites reported long lines and scattered glitches, though county election officials described today's vote as going relatively smoothly.
Californians are turning out today -- possibly in large numbers -- to choose presidential nominees and decide the fate of seven ballot propositions and numerous local issues.
But at Los Angeles County polling places that didn't open on time, some people were angry. Joanna Ruhl, 25, was waiting to vote this morning with half a dozen other aggravated voters at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles, where the doors weren't unlocked until 11 a.m.
"It's extremely frustrating," said Ruhl, who added that she felt fortunate to be off work today, because she could wait at the Santa Monica Boulevard church to cast her ballot, whereas a steady stream of people came and left.
At the Westside Jewish Community Center on Olympic Boulevard, officials didn't get voting equipment until 12:20 p.m. -- more than five hours after the polls opened.
Shirley Frazier, 58, a retired phone company worker, took the train from Long Beach, where she was baby-sitting her goddaughter, to cast her ballot. As she waited for the chance to vote, Frazier said she was reminded of the election irregularities during the 2000 presidential race.
"It's Florida all over again," she said.
Today's delegate-rich California primary is considered the campaign's biggest prize to date. Voting is also taking place in more than 20 other states, in what many consider to be the closest the country has come to a national primary.
Results in California are expected to be reported far later than usual this year because many counties are using paper ballots, which must be fed manually into scanners. Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified the vast majority of electronic voting machines in the state last year, arguing that they were vulnerable to tampering and have defects that could mar vote counts.
As a result, about a third of California counties were scrambling to prepare for the primary, printing millions of paper ballots, acquiring new optical scanners and pressing into service scanners normally used to count absentee ballots.
In Beverly Hills, early voter Kristen Bell, 37, of Los Angeles was angry that she had to cast a provisional ballot. Bell, her husband and several other people showed up to vote at a "yellow table" that did not exist at the La Cienega Tennis Center polling station.
When she called the county registrar's office to complain, officials did not seem to be aware of the problem, Bell said.
Bell, a registered Democrat who said she voted for Sen. Barack Obama, said she was upset because provisional ballots are counted last.
"When you see the little percentage bars on the TV, that's not our vote; it's not in there," Bell said. "There's so much frustration in this country, so to feel like I'm a disenfranchised voter in Beverly Hills is ridiculous."
Grace Chavez, the spokeswoman for the registrar, said that "provisional votes are there so we don't disenfranchise the voter."
"We know life happens, difficulties and emergencies arise," she said, adding that she was not aware of complaints of similar situations. "If everything pans out, those provisionals will be processed and those ballots counted."
Silver Lake voter Pedro Mas Mayor was upset when he was asked to show identification at his polling place. Mayor, 69, a naturalized citizen who has lived in the United States since 1966, said this was the first time he'd ever been asked to show identification when voting.
"I told them it's the law that you aren't supposed to ask," Mayor said. "I said, 'Are you sure?' She said, 'Yes, you have to.' She insisted. So I showed my ID and said, 'I need a ballot.' "
Mayor said poll workers at the Sunset Boulevard Free Clinic were also asking white voters for their IDs. "They were asking everybody. I was a little upset, but I was able to vote," he said.
Chavez, the registrar-recorder spokeswoman, said the volunteer poll workers may have been confused about the law, which requires them to ask for ID only if the voter recently re-registered. First-time voters also are required to show proof of residency, she said.
Glitches are the early front-runner in California
Some voters encounter locked doors and other delays as they turn out for the state's pivotal primary.
By Tiffany Hsu, Paloma Esquivel and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
At least two Los Angeles-area polling places were shuttered this morning when voters showed up to cast their ballots, and other polling sites reported long lines and scattered glitches, though county election officials described today's vote as going relatively smoothly.
Californians are turning out today -- possibly in large numbers -- to choose presidential nominees and decide the fate of seven ballot propositions and numerous local issues.
But at Los Angeles County polling places that didn't open on time, some people were angry. Joanna Ruhl, 25, was waiting to vote this morning with half a dozen other aggravated voters at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles, where the doors weren't unlocked until 11 a.m.
"It's extremely frustrating," said Ruhl, who added that she felt fortunate to be off work today, because she could wait at the Santa Monica Boulevard church to cast her ballot, whereas a steady stream of people came and left.
At the Westside Jewish Community Center on Olympic Boulevard, officials didn't get voting equipment until 12:20 p.m. -- more than five hours after the polls opened.
Shirley Frazier, 58, a retired phone company worker, took the train from Long Beach, where she was baby-sitting her goddaughter, to cast her ballot. As she waited for the chance to vote, Frazier said she was reminded of the election irregularities during the 2000 presidential race.
"It's Florida all over again," she said.
Today's delegate-rich California primary is considered the campaign's biggest prize to date. Voting is also taking place in more than 20 other states, in what many consider to be the closest the country has come to a national primary.
Results in California are expected to be reported far later than usual this year because many counties are using paper ballots, which must be fed manually into scanners. Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified the vast majority of electronic voting machines in the state last year, arguing that they were vulnerable to tampering and have defects that could mar vote counts.
As a result, about a third of California counties were scrambling to prepare for the primary, printing millions of paper ballots, acquiring new optical scanners and pressing into service scanners normally used to count absentee ballots.
In Beverly Hills, early voter Kristen Bell, 37, of Los Angeles was angry that she had to cast a provisional ballot. Bell, her husband and several other people showed up to vote at a "yellow table" that did not exist at the La Cienega Tennis Center polling station.
When she called the county registrar's office to complain, officials did not seem to be aware of the problem, Bell said.
Bell, a registered Democrat who said she voted for Sen. Barack Obama, said she was upset because provisional ballots are counted last.
"When you see the little percentage bars on the TV, that's not our vote; it's not in there," Bell said. "There's so much frustration in this country, so to feel like I'm a disenfranchised voter in Beverly Hills is ridiculous."
Grace Chavez, the spokeswoman for the registrar, said that "provisional votes are there so we don't disenfranchise the voter."
"We know life happens, difficulties and emergencies arise," she said, adding that she was not aware of complaints of similar situations. "If everything pans out, those provisionals will be processed and those ballots counted."
Silver Lake voter Pedro Mas Mayor was upset when he was asked to show identification at his polling place. Mayor, 69, a naturalized citizen who has lived in the United States since 1966, said this was the first time he'd ever been asked to show identification when voting.
"I told them it's the law that you aren't supposed to ask," Mayor said. "I said, 'Are you sure?' She said, 'Yes, you have to.' She insisted. So I showed my ID and said, 'I need a ballot.' "
Mayor said poll workers at the Sunset Boulevard Free Clinic were also asking white voters for their IDs. "They were asking everybody. I was a little upset, but I was able to vote," he said.
Chavez, the registrar-recorder spokeswoman, said the volunteer poll workers may have been confused about the law, which requires them to ask for ID only if the voter recently re-registered. First-time voters also are required to show proof of residency, she said.