Election Focus Remains on Voucher Fight : Balloting: The costly campaign has overshadowed six other state measures. Turnout of 40% is forecast today.

A rancorous $20-million-plus campaign battle over the school voucher initiative--Proposition 174--ended today as California voters cast ballots in the first statewide special election in 14 years.

The secretary of state’s office issued a carefully hedged voter turnout forecast of 40.1% of California’s 14.5 million registered voters. Ballots are being cast at 18,386 schools, homes, firehouses and other polling places throughout the state.

Voting hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. statewide.

Many Californians will not vote at their customary precincts today. Because of the brevity of the statewide ballot, election officials were able to consolidate two or more precincts into common voting locations in many areas. There usually are about 25,000 polling places in regular state elections.

All California voters are making decisions on only seven ballot measures. Six of the ballot proposals were put there by the Legislature and one by initiative petition--Proposition 174, the voucher plan, which was the focus of the election from the day Gov. Pete Wilson called for balloting last spring.

To pass, a measure must win a majority of all ballots cast.

Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tony Miller said the voter turnout forecast “was a difficult one to call” because of limited experience with special state elections. The last one, in 1979, was called by the Legislature on a measure dealing with school busing. At the same election, Californians also approved the initiative sponsored by the late Paul Gann that put spending limits on state and local government.

Wilson set the special election to coincide with school district and city and county elections already scheduled for today. There also are four special elections to fill vacancies in the Legislature.

Of the six ballot measures that ran in the shadow of the Proposition 174 campaign, city, county and school district officials throughout California paid special attention to two:

* Proposition 170 would allow school bond issues to pass by a majority vote rather than the two-thirds now required.

* Proposition 172 would make permanent a temporary half-cent surcharge in the state sales tax, with the proceeds--about $1.5 billion a year--going to city and county treasuries that have been depleted by the recession and diversion of property tax revenues to the state school fund. If the measure fails, the statewide property tax rate of 6%--not counting special local levies--will drop back to 5.5% on Jan. 1.

The overwhelming amount of money, energy and argument went into the fight over Proposition 174, a proposed constitutional amendment.

The voucher initiative originally qualified for the regular June, 1994, ballot. When Wilson called the special statewide election on the sales tax measure, Proposition 174 automatically went onto the earlier ballot.

The initiative proposes that any parent of a school-age child in California be able to receive a “scholarship,” commonly referred to as a voucher, valued at a minimum of 50% of the total state and local cost of educating one pupil in the public school system in the preceding year. At current levels of public school spending, the voucher would be worth about $2,600 for each child.

The parent could take the voucher to any public or private school and use it to help pay the child’s tuition and fees.

Other statewide measures on today’s ballot:

* Proposition 168: Would relax requirements for a city or county election to approve creation of any proposed low-rent housing project. Elections now are mandatory. Under Proposition 168, a certain number of signatures would have to be collected before an election would be required.

* Proposition 169: Would allow the Legislature to lump all state budget implementation measures, the so-called budget trailer bills, into one piece of legislation. At present, follow-up bills on various sections of the budget must be enacted separately.

* Proposition 171: At present, owners of houses damaged or destroyed in a disaster may retain their old property tax assessment when they rebuild or buy a replacement home. This measure would allow them to retain their old assessment even if they decide to build or buy in another county in California.

* Proposition 173: Would authorize the sale of bonds and require the proceeds to be used to provide mortgage guaranty insurance for low- and moderate-income first-time home buyers.

Special legislative elections were being held today to fill vacancies created by the resignations of state Sens. Becky Morgan (R-Los Altos) and Wadie P. Deddeh (D-Bonita) and Assemblyman Sam Farr (D-Carmel), and the election of state Sen. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) in a new Senate district.