Ryan Carter
Thousands of local registered voters did not turn out for this week's
primary election, and those who did, did not strictly vote along
party lines.
Among Burbank's 49,088 registered voters, only 14,115 -- or 28.8%
-- cast ballots Tuesday. The numbers were similar to percentages in
surrounding areas. In Glendale, for example, 24.5% of eligible voters
made it to the polls. Despite a Democratic primary, voter turnout in
Burbank was lower than preliminary results for all of Los Angeles
County -- even for a city in which Democrats outnumber Republicans
21,050 to 17,530.
"We haven't certified election results yet, but in preliminary
random sampling, we have seen that turnout is about 34% of eligible
voters," said Grace Chavez, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County
registrar's office, on Thursday. "Turnouts fluctuate from year to
year."
In the 2000 presidential primary, 48.2% of eligible voters in the
county turned out to vote. In Burbank on Tuesday, 6,575 Democrats
voted compared to 5,526 Republicans. Voters cast ballots for
candidates in eight different parties.
More than 4,000 Democrats in Burbank voted for Sen. John Kerry
(D-Mass.) to run against President George W. Bush in November.
"Republicans would have been less motivated to vote because their
incumbent presidential candidate is Bush," said Mona Field, a
political science professor at Glendale Community College. "But I
think many Democrats realized their choice was preordained around
Sen. John Kerry."
That left the primary up to a more passionate core of voters, who
were looking at choices that were not "at the top of the ticket,"
Field said.
One race that directly affects Burbank is the campaign for the
29th Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank)
received 2,450, or 37%, of the Democratic votes in Burbank, and the
winner of the Republican primary for the district, Pasadena attorney
Harry Scolinos, won 899, or 16%, of Burbank's Republican votes.
The lack of votes for candidates in the race for the 29th District
seat could reflect anything from voter apathy to protest, experts
reasoned.
In Schiff's case, it could be because "he's a moderate Democrat
and these are left-wing voters turning out," Field said, adding that
in primaries, the more extreme wings of both parties are energized.
In the nonpartisan county supervisor race in the 5th District,
which includes Burbank, Supervisor Mike Antonovich resoundingly won
another term with 7,182 votes compared to 1,769 votes for the
next-highest vote-getter, Burbank businesswoman Lynne Plambeck.
Burbank voted in favor of Propositions 57 and 58, the state
measures that issue a one-time $15-billion bond and require a
balanced state budget each year. Both measures passed the state vote.
Burbank voters cast more votes against Proposition 55, the measure
calling for a $12-billion school bond, which won statewide approval.
The majority of local voters also cast ballots against Proposition
56, the measure that would have allowed the Legislature to enact a
budget and tax-related appropriations with a 55% vote rather than a
two-thirds majority. Voters across the state did not pass the
measure.
