ELECTIONS : Longest Ballot in History Awaits Voters

Ventura County voters, peppered with last-minute appeals from candidates and special interest groups, will cast ballots today in the governor’s race, pick a county supervisor and decide whether to raise sales taxes by half a cent to pay for transportation projects.

Also on the ballot are more than a dozen federal, state and local races, including nine school board contests and City Council races in Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.

Polls open today at 7 a.m. at 459 locations around the county and close at 8 p.m. Elections officials predict that 59% of the county’s 308,555 registered voters will cast ballots, a historic low for a gubernatorial race.

The low-vote prediction is based on a three-decade trend of growing voter apathy. In this election, only 42% of the voting-age population in the county is expected to vote, said Richard Dean, county clerk and recorder.

Of those casting ballots, election officials estimate that a record 22% of voters in the county, or 40,000 people, will mail or drop off absentee ballots rather than stand in a voting booth and wrestle with the longest ballot in the county’s history.

The final days of the campaign has brought a flurry of radio and television advertisements. In addition to the barrage of ads for the gubernatorial candidates and for 28 statewide ballot propositions, Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) and his Democratic challenger Anita Perez Ferguson have multimedia campaigns to curry favor with voters.

Most area candidates have focused on delivering their message through the mail. For example, county supervisorial candidates Vicky Howard and Bill Davis have sent mass mailings to woo potential voters in the 4th Supervisorial District that incorporates Moorpark and Simi Valley.

Measure C, a countywide measure to add a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects, has picked up additional supporters and opponents in the last few days before the election.

State Sens. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) and Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) issued a joint statement supporting the measure they say will improve air quality and relieve traffic congestion. Meanwhile, Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) announced his objection on the basis that it add more taxes to the overburdened taxpayer.

Today’s ballot presents voters with more choices than ever, Dean said. “It’s the longest ballot we’ve ever had, about double the size of the ballot in June.”

Election officials attribute part of the increase in absentee voters to the increasing length and complexity of the ballot, especially the intimidating number of statewide ballot propositions.

“It is a lot easier to ponder all these choices at home than to do it standing in an election booth,” said Ruth P. Schepler, chief of the county’s Elections Division.

In addition, growing numbers of candidates, special-interest groups and political parties have supplied their supporters with applications for absentee ballots in an effort to get out their vote.

For this election, the state and national Republican parties have sent out more absentee ballot applications than other groups, Schepler said. Other applications have come from a variety of groups, including Beer Drinkers of America, which is opposed to ballot initiatives that would increase alcohol taxes.

One advantage to a big number of absentee ballots is that about 29,000 ballots will be tallied by 8:30 tonight, giving the public a strong indication of winners and losers.

A disadvantage is that an anticipated 11,000 absentee ballots will be dropped off at the polls on election day, delaying the final results. Election officials have to check the signature of each absentee voter to the signature recorded on microfiche at the county.

As a result, counting these ballots may not be completed for a week or more. “They could have an impact on close races,” Dean said. He said the election officials are not promising final election results until Nov. 21 and will not alter its schedule to determine the winner of a particularly close race.

Registered voters who do not know where to cast their vote may call the Elections Division for assistance at 654-2781 between 6:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. today.