Turnout Lags ’86 Vote : Very Light in Some GOP Strongholds

Early turnout figures sent a mixed signal to gubernatorial candidates Pete Wilson and Dianne Feinstein, who waited today for the voters’ decision on who will lead California in the 1990s.

Voting was light, which usually favors Republicans, but it was especially light in GOP strongholds such as Wilson’s home county of San Diego.

The turnout during the first four hours of voting was 16.2% in Los Angeles County, 17% in Orange County, 15% in Sacramento County and 13.7% in San Diego County.

The early turnout figures were slightly lower than they were for the last gubernatorial election in 1986.

Those turnout reports were generally on target to meet Secretary of State March Fong Eu’s earlier projection of a 62.1% turnout of California’s 13.5 million voters. That would result in a total turnout of just over 8 million, including about 1.5 million absentee ballots.

Most absentee ballots are reported immediately after polls close, but absentee ballots received today must be verified before they are counted, which could leave the results of any especially close race in doubt for several days.

Polls will be open until 8 p.m. at 26,060 precincts throughout the state, and most political observers expect close contests for governor and several other key races, including attorney general, treasurer and the Proposition 128 “Big Green” environmental initiative.

The race for governor tops a complicated, crowded ballot that included 28 ballot initiatives, 45 congressional and 101 legislative races, a half-dozen constitutional offices and the first election of a state insurance commissioner.

Propositions on the statewide ballot include a proposal to limit the terms of state legislators which could throw all current members of the Legislature out of office by the end of the decade, two conflicting alcohol tax increase measures, a sales tax hike for anti-crime and anti-drug programs and a record 14 bond measures proposing a total of $5.8 million in new borrowing for programs ranging from schools to prisons to housing.

Local ballot measures included a proposed utility tax hike to finance a new stadium for the San Francisco Giants in Santa Clara County, a butterfly habitat bond issue in Pacific Grove, a city-county merger in Sacramento and a dozen local sales tax increase proposals in 10 counties across the state.