Low turnout for April primary

Laguna Beach voters did not turn out in droves for the April 11 open primary for the state’s 35th District Senate seat, won by Assemblyman Tom Harman, who squeaked past Diane Harkey in preliminary count. Democrat Larry Caballero ran unopposed to represent his party in the upcoming election. Harkey will pay for a recount.

According to the unofficial results, 3,689 ballots were cast in the primary, a mere 20.78% of Laguna’s 17,752 registered voters.

The biggest turnouts in town were in Three Arch Bay and Top of the World and those barely topped 25% of the registered voters. The lowest percentage was 0 in precinct 0044123, where none of the three registered voters cast ballots. The next lowest was precinct 0044124, where 74 of Club Laguna’s 762 registered voters cast ballots.