San Francisco Turnout Is Unusually Low

Recently stung by embarrassing ballot miscues, this city managed to pull off an election Tuesday that officials called free of mistakes but--in typical San Francisco political style--not free of controversy.

There were no known lost or mishandled ballots, no activists on the losing side of close races screaming for a recount.

Yet, while voter turnout was down statewide, local elections officials were chagrined that voting here--which historically runs higher than the state average--plummeted to what could be an all-time low.

Less than 27% of registered voters cast ballots, compared with 31% statewide, figures show.

“We’re going to spend the time to find out why people did not come out to vote,” said Department of Elections chief Tammy Haygood.

Officials largely attribute Tuesday’s turnout to a lack of galvanizing issues and few Democratic contests in this largely Democratic city.

Critics suggest another reason: voter frustration over lost and mishandled ballots in the last election, after which a dozen ballot box lids were found floating in San Francisco Bay. The developments prompted a state investigation and a demand by the secretary of state, who oversees California elections, that local officials re-canvass 325,000 votes from the November 2000 races.

“Voters have seen the way their ballots were mishandled, and many decided to stay home rather than see their vote dishonored,” veteran activist Ross Mirkarimi said.

Despite a preelection poll that showed that 31% of San Francisco voters no longer trust local election officials to properly handle their ballots, Haygood said Wednesday that she wasn’t buying the “no-confidence” contention.

“Wherever I go, I just don’t hear voters saying that,” she said. “The people who are not under the dome of City Hall have a lot more confidence in the election process than people under the dome--the activists and spin makers--want to give them credit for.”

On election night, some voters who did report to the city’s 649 polling spots said they were less discouraged by past foul-ups than by complicated ballots that left them ready to scream.

Lisa Lemoult stood in a ballot cubicle Tuesday and gnashed her teeth. “I’m at a complete loss here,” she said after voting. “I’m a graduate student and political science major, I speak English as a primary language and I am still confused by the instructions to complete these ballots. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for people who speak English as a second language.”

Lemoult said the city should offer preelection classes on how to handle the mass of information voters are confronted with inside the ballot cubicle. Haygood says the city will do just that: “We’ll do whatever we can to demystify this process.”

Other voters were not put off. “It’s OK to complain about the process but I think many people use that as an excuse to stay home,” said Anu Maria, a 35-year-old high-tech worker. “Go ahead and complain, but come to the polls and make your noise.”

Mirkarimi says the city first must win back its credibility among voters before they will return to the polls in acceptable numbers.

“There used to be a time where San Francisco was the positive contrarian to state trends,” he said. “We’d have more, not less, than the California average of people who care enough to turn out and vote. But those days are gone.”