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Power outage momentarily dims voting at San Fernando polling places

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President Obama speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday.  (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)
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Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) greets students in the McConnell Scholars Program after answering questions during a press conference at the University of Louisville on Wednesday.  (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
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Los Angeles County supervisor candidate Sheila Kuehl hugs a supporter at an election night party in Santa Monica.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Gov. Jerry Brown delivers his victory speech with wife Anne Gust Brown at his side in front of the governor’s mansion in Sacramento.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), with wife Franki, speaks to supporters in Topeka, Kan., after defeating independent candidate Greg Orman.  (Ed Zurga / EPA)
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Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) waves at his election watch party in North Little Rock, Ark., after defeating Sen. Mark Pryor.  (Danny Johnston / Associated Press)
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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) celebrates in Manchester, N.H., with supporters after winning the election for a second term in the Senate.   (Cheryl Senter / Associated Press)
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Sen.-elect and U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) celebrates with his wife, Jamie, at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center.  (Chris Schneider / Associated Press)
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The Empire State Building in New York is illuminated in red, representing the Republican takeover of the Senate.  (Mladen Antonov / AFP/Getty Images)
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New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, center, delivers her victory speech in Albuquerque.  (Andres Leighton / Associated Press)
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Doug Ducey, Republican candidate for Arizona governor, waves to the crowd during his acceptance speech in Phoenix. With him are his wife, Angela, right; son Sam, bottom; and son Jack, back.   (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
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Sen.-elect Steve Daines and his wife, Cindy, in Bozeman, Mont.  (Michael Albans / Associated Press)
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari officially concedes to incumbent Governor Jerry Brown on election night.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Marshall Tuck, center, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, held an election night party at his home. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was on hand to lend his support.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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California Gov. Jerry Brown on the phone inside the governor’s mansion in Sacramento just before the polls closed.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., with his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, casts his ballot in Louisville, Ky.  (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) takes a congratulatory phone call from President Obama after her reelection victory.  (Bill Sikes / Associated Press)
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Michigan Senate candidate Gary Peters looks back to his family as he addresses supporters in Detroit.  (Carlos Osorio / Associated Press)
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Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin waits backstage before delivering his victory speech in Chicago.  (Andrew Nelles / Associated Press)
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Ricketts receives a hug from Lou Ann Linehan on election night in Lincoln, Neb.  (Rebecca S. Gratz / Associated Press)
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Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito celebrates her Senate victory in West Virginia.  (Tyler Evert / Associated Press)
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) poses for a photo with supporters while celebrating her reelection victory over Democrat Shenna Bellows.  (Bill Sikes / Associated Press)
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State superintendent candidate Marshall Tuck’s campaign staff work on their computers in a corner of his backyard.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is surrounded by supporters during a victory party.  (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) greets supporters in Columbia after his reelection.  (Rainier Ehrhardt / Associated Press)
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) hugs a supporter after being elected to a full Senate term, defeating challengers Jill Bossi and Joyce Dickerson.  (Mic Smith / Associated Press)
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Ana Barillas, left, and her husband, Armando, vote at St. Anthony Grand Lodge in South Los Angeles.  (Christina House / For The Times)
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Laguna Beach Lawn Bowling Club members relax outside while voters cast ballots inside.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A dog stands outside the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church polling location in Laguna Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A man votes at St. Anthony Grand Lodge in South Los Angeles.  (Christina House / For The Times)
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James Fearce of Inglewood votes at Love, Peace and Happiness Family Christian Fellowship in South Los Angeles.  (Christina House / For The Times)
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Guadalupe Portillo, who is 102 years old, is swarmed by the media as she casts her ballot for the midterm election at the Montecito Heights Recreation Center in Los Angeles. Portillo recently became a citizen and is voting for the first time.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Recently naturalized citizen Guadalupe Portillo, who is 102 years old, is serenaded by mariachis prior to voting at the Montecito Heights Recreation Center in Los Angeles.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari walks his dog Newsome at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach after voting at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church in Laguna Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari speaks to reporters after casting his ballot at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church in Laguna Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Voters in Santa Monica line up at the polling station at Carlthorp School in Santa Monica to cast their ballots.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Betty Lieu places an “I Voted” sticker on her husband, congressional candidate Ted Lieu, after the two voted at Coast Christian Fellowship in Torrance.  (Christina House / For The Times)
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Bobby Shriver’s daughter, Natasha, takes a selfie of the family after Shriver and his wife, Malissa (holding their younger daughter, Rosemary), cast their ballots at Carlthorp School in Santa Monica. Shriver is running for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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L.A. County Board of Supervisors candidate Bobby Shriver laughs and smacks his head on the table at a joke by poll clerk Aimee Goldberg, right, while signing in to vote at Carlthorp School in Santa Monica.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Jim McDonnell, candidate for Los Angeles County sheriff, talks to the media after casting his ballot at the International City Masonic Temple in Long Beach.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
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Voters file into the polling station at the American Cetacean Society at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighter Cheyne Hansen takes a sign out of storage at a municipal garage while helping election officials set up a polling place in Camden, Maine.   (Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press)
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Virginia voters line up in the pre-dawn hours to cast their ballots at the Hunter House, a historic home in Vienna, Va.  (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)
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An election official opens the door at the polling station located at Pleasant Green Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky.   (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
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Photographed from across a reflecting pool, Virginia Democrats hold a get-out-the-vote rally for Sen. Mark Warner and other Democratic candidates Monday night at Old Town Alexandria Market Square.  (Sau Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst casts her ballot on election day at the polling place in her hometown in Red Oak, Iowa. Ernst was in a close race with her opponent, Democratic candidate Rep. Bruce Braley.   (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Voters fill in their ballots on election day at the Red Oak Fire Department in Red Oak, Iowa.   (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Clay Aiken, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in North Carolina’s 2nd District, poses for a selfie with supporters after casting his vote at Mills Park Elementary School in Cary, N.C.   (Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker arrives to cast his ballot at Jefferson Elementary School in Milwaukee. Walker was in a tight race against opponent Democrat Mary Burke.   (Darren Hauck / Getty Images)
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Democratic Senate candidate and Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and her husband, Andrew Grimes, check in with election officials before voting at Pleasant Green Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky. Grimes is running against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.  (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
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Voters mark their ballots in a gym at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Albany, N.Y. Among other races, New Yorkers were deciding whether to give Gov. Andrew Cuomo a second term.   (Mike Groll / Associated Press)
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Florida Gov. Rick Scott, right, talks with volunteers at a phone bank on election day in Miami. Scott is running against Charlie Crist, a former Republican and former governor seeking to return to the office as a Democrat.  (Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
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Kelly Fleenor votes with her children Ally, right, and Harry at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.  (Mark Lyons / EPA)
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A polling station set up in a home’s garage opens on election day in San Diego.   (Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
By Tre’vell Anderson
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At the polling place at San Fernando Elementary, the voting was lights out. Literally.

The power inside the school’s George Lopez Auditorium went out momentarily on election day at about 10 a.m. Poll workers said they didn’t know what caused the outage, but it wasn’t the turnout — which Annette Amezquita said had been low since 6 a.m.

But Amezquita said she expected the amount of voters to pick up significantly in the evening. She said even with the low turnout so far, the three people— including her — working ay the polling place seemed insufficient.

“It would be helpful if we had an extra body,” Amezquita said. “How are we going to do lunches, because that’ll only leave two of us here?”

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Power also briefly went out at San Fernando’s American Legion Post 176, lead poll worker Alexander Longsworth said. It lasted only a few minutes, he said, and did not disrupt voting.

Longsworth said turnout was low and two volunteers didn’t show up.

At San Fernando Senior High School, Miriam Marin, 39, voted for the first time since becoming a citizen in October. The Guatemalan-born Marin said she voted because if “you don’t vote, you won’t see changes.”

Twitter: @TrevellAnderson

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