As goes San Benito County, so goes California.
San Benito County voter turnout in Tuesday’s special election
was a nearly exact bellwether for the statewide vote.
Hollister – As goes San Benito County, so goes California.
San Benito County voter turnout in Tuesday’s special election was a nearly exact bellwether for the statewide vote. Not only were the state and county turnouts identical at 42.6 percent, but San Benito County voters had the smallest average differential between their vote and the statewide vote on each proposition – less than two percentage points – of all 58 California counties.
Although less than half of all registered voters in San Benito County made it to the polls Tuesday, the turnout far exceeded local election officials’ expectations. Nevertheless, Registrar John Hodges said operations went smoothly.
“I was going to say around 30 percent,” Hodges said. “But there were no hitches or glitches. The staff did what they were supposed to do, poll workers… It went by so smooth – it was here and then it was gone.”
Of the eight propositions on the ballot, all failed – even the four Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tirelessly stumped for.
While early estimates from the California Secretary of State’s office put the cost of the election around $40 million statewide, political analysts put the money raised and spent on advertising as some of the highest ever – upwards of $250 million, according to media reports.
Hodges won’t have a figure nailed down on the cost of the special election in San Benito County for approximately 30 days when all the bills are received and tallied, however he said it should be slightly higher than the amount local taxpayers shelled out for former Gov. Gray Davis’ recall election. The 2003 recall topped out around $141,000 for San Benito County and 56.8 percent of local voters cast their ballots for the October election, he said.
While the Davis recall election saw unusually high voter turnout both in San Benito County and statewide, the Secretary of State’s Office estimated a 42 percent voter turnout for Tuesday’s special election, according to Secretary of State spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen.
Nguyen said special election predictions typically forecast a 35 to 45 percent turnout.
Nguyen said the state should have more concrete numbers on the cost of the election within a week, but when Hodges receives the bills and is able to calculate the total cost of Tuesday’s vote, he isn’t expecting a speedy reimbursement from the state. Actually, he isn’t holding his breath for any reimbursement at all.
“The state never reimbursed us (for the Davis recall), but they’re supposed to,” he said. “We can sure use the last one, the county needs the money. We’re sure by God keeping our fingers crossed (for this one).”
Due to every proposition’s defeat – some of them overwhelmingly – Hodges said holding a special election that cuts into precious dollars that could be spent elsewhere isn’t wise.
“I think they ought to just stick with the regularly scheduled elections,” he said. “Individual counties have to foot the bill up front, then we’re out. It’s not worth it.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
