Despite the flurry of attention the Oct. 7 recall election
attracted, only one percent more students voted than in the last
gubernatorial election, according to a finalized Los Angeles Times
exit poll.
The low turnout of student voters was surprising in light of the
interest the election generated, and may have been partially due to
confusion that hampered some students’ attempts to vote.
One of the most common problems was that many students were
registered to vote outside of Los Angeles County and applied for
absentee ballots but did not receive them in time.
Some, like Melissa Kamenjarin, a second-year history student,
were unclear whether the Sept. 30 deadline was the last day the
absentee ballot application could be received, or if it only had to
be postmarked by that date.
This information was listed on the registrar’s Web site
and on the back of sample ballots, but the deadline still tripped
up some inexperienced voters.
Students who applied for their absentee ballots on time but did
not receive them should have been allowed to vote provisionally,
said Grace Chavez, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County
Registrar’s Office.
The secretary of state gave special permission for Los Angeles
County voters to vote provisionally anywhere in the county in the
recall election.
This is the first time the secretary of state allowed voters to
vote at any polling place in the county, which could have led to
confusion among poll inspectors, Chavez said.
Some students who did not receive their absentee ballots in time
did not vote because they were not aware they could vote
provisionally.
Erika Meallon, a second-year undeclared student, had her
absentee ballot sent to her home, but it arrived only a week before
the election, and she was not able to pick it up in time to vote.
She thought that without it, there was no way she could vote.
Some students could not vote because their registration forms
were not processed properly.
Jonathan Mihara, a second-year political science and classical
civilization student, had been registered in northern California
and re-registered on Bruin Plaza last year, but when he went to the
polls on Oct. 7, he was told that he was still registered in
Northern California and could not vote.
Some students, like Tiffany Duong, a second-year communications
studies student, were confused by voter information that was
circulating around campus.
“All of the flyers on campus said if I brought a piece of
mail from my mailbox at UCLA, I could vote here even though I am
registered in Nor Cal,” she said.
But she said poll workers told her otherwise.
“They said, “˜you can vote if you jump on a plane in
the next five minutes and fly back to San Jose,'” Duong
said.