Casting Votes in a Historic Election

Pacific Palisades voters helped return U.S. Representative Henry Waxman to office for the 18th time on Tuesday, while reelecting State Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), who received 67 percent of the vote. Former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) will succeed termed-out State Senator Sheila Kuehl in the 23rd District after collecting 68 percent of the vote. When the polls opened at 7 a.m., there were already long lines at the seven Palisades voting stations: the Summit Club in the Highlands, Bel-Air Bay Club, Calvary Christian Church, Rustic Canyon Recreation Center, Palisades Lutheran Church, Palisades Recreation Center and the American Legion Hall. Calvary’s first voter was Robert Schibel, who arrived at 6:08 a.m. ‘I have to be downtown by 8 a.m. and I wanted to be sure I would make it,’ he said. Second in line was 90-year-old Arnold Jensen, who arrived at 6:10. ‘I was watching television and I thought there would be a big line,’ he explained. By the time he received his ballot, 85 people were behind him. Not surprisingly a shortage of parking spaces was a problem at most locations, as was the fact that several precincts shared the same polling station, causing an uneven distribution of people waiting in lines. Poll workers at the Lutheran Church, for example, were asked why no one was in one line, while 45 were in the other. ‘Our theory is, we’re fast,’ joked worker Pat Nahigian. Perhaps one of the most beautiful places to vote in the nation is the historic Bel-Air Bay Club, with its panoramic view of Santa Monica Bay. As a bonus, voters were treated to coffee and cookies supplied by the Club. ‘The view is intoxicating,’ said poll worker Alfina Colber, who lives in West L.A. Les Frost, headmaster at St. Matthew’s School, was one of the first in line at Bel-Air, arriving at 6:45 a.m. ‘It went smoothly,’ he said, ‘and took about 20 minutes once they opened up.’ Gena Bell, who cast her vote at the Club, told the Palisadian-Post that she voted for Ronald Reagan in her first presidential election in 1984. ‘My views have changed since then,’ she said, though she declined revealing who she voted for on Tuesday. At Rustic Canyon, Leslie Steiner was in front of the building with her three golden retrievers. ‘I usually vote with the dogs, but I heard the lines were long,’ said Steiner, as she headed home with the dogs before voting. Inside, workers said they had 92 voters in the first hour. ‘The only election that was nearly this big was when Arnold Schwarzenegger was on the ballot,’ said Carolyn Perry. ‘This precinct usually has a high turnout, but this is unusual. The last election we worked, only 35 people voted during the entire eight hours we were here.’ Palisades historian and author Betty Lou Young, 89, was also working at Rustic. ‘I may be the oldest poll worker,’ she said. Helping with provisional ballots at the Lutheran Church was Palisade Jerry Brown, a Wildwood senior who said he had 11 ballots by 9:10 a.m. ‘I have no idea why they aren’t in the book,’ he said of residents who had to vote provisionally. If a person has moved and his or her new address hasn’t been recorded or there is a snafu at the registrar’s office, provisional voting allows that person to vote. The votes are placed in a pink envelope and sent to the registrar, who then checks if the voter is registered. Ballot-box worker Shelley Cohen said the large turnout was proof that ‘They want to make sure the right man wins.’ He refused to say who the ‘right’ man was, because workers are required to remain impartial. Casting her ballot was Eugenia Rohberg, who voted in her first presidential election in 1952 and could easily recall his famous slogan: ‘I Like Ike.’ ‘In retrospect, I don’t know if he was the best choice,’ she said, ‘but I was a college student and I remember it being exciting.’ The Palisades Rec Center had no lines at 9:25. ‘It was insane from 6 a.m. because people were already lining up,’ said Inspector Deirdera Sloyan. ‘At 8:30 it eased off.’ She worked the George Bush/John Kerry election four years ago: ‘It was crazy. We were at Mort’s and we were more disorganized and in a smaller space.’ When the American Legion opened at 7 a.m., voters were lined up outside the building, along Swarthmore almost to CVS Pharmacy, but by 10 a.m. there were 15 people in line. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, the following state measures gathered the following votes according to the California Secretary of State: 1A. Passenger Train Bond (yes’52.3 percent, no’47.7 percent) 2. Farm Animal Initiative (yes’63.3 percent, no’36.7 percent) 3. Children’s Hospital Bond (yes’54.8 percent, no’45.2 percent) 4. Parental Notification of Pregnancy of Minors (yes’47.7 percent, no 52.3 percent) 5. Nonviolent Drug Offenses (yes’40.1 percent, no 59.9 percent) 6. Police/Law Enforcement (yes’30.6 percent, no 69.4 percent) 7. Renewable Energy (yes’35.1 percent, no 64.9 percent) 8. Same Sex Initiative (yes’52.2 percent, no 47.8 percent) 9. Criminal Justice System (yes’53.3 percent, no 46.7 percent) 10. Alternative Fuel (yes’40.2 percent, no 59.8’percent) 11. Redistricting (yes’50.6 percent, no 49.4’percent) 12. Veterans Bond Act (yes’63.5 percent, no 36.5’percent)