AT THE POLLSTurnout strong in Newport-Mesa

Poll workers in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa said Tuesday’s election brought out more voters than they remembered in previous years.

Despite Costa Mesa candidates’ constant debate about illegal immigration in the city, many Eastside residents said they were concerned with state and federal issues such as Proposition 85, which mandates that minors get parental permission before receiving an abortion — and 86, which increases the tax on cigarettes.

“I wanted to vote on the smoking tax,” said new Costa Mesa resident Jacqueline Samayoa. “I don’t think they should even be legal at all, and anything I can do to make it harder, I will.”

Mom and daughter Carol and Vanessa Long of Newport Beach said they were “concerned about undocumented workers,” but said they were concerned at the federal level.

Voters at a polling place at Whittier School in Costa Mesa had different reasons for what drew them to vote in Tuesday’s election, but the Westside location seemed more in tune with the immigration debate.

Lynn Steinberg cast her ballot for her neighbor — Costa Mesa City Council candidate Wendy Leece. “It’s worth coming out to vote for somebody like her,” Steinberg said. “One vote does make a difference.”

Costa Mesa resident Bryce Harvey reflected Orange County’s conservative base and said this election was extremely important to protect his ideals.

“Anything I can do to slow down Nancy Pelosi and the left-wingers from taking over — that’s why I’m here,” Harvey said while he waited in line to sign in at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church on 20th Street. “I have to vote always, even though in California mine are sometimes called the throwaway votes, but I still think it’s important.”

Lucy Ladd, who lives in a senior citizen complex near Whitter School, hopes voters like her will send a message to the current administration in Washington, D.C., about the Iraq war.

“There are young men dying in Iraq, and I think our government has gone astray and we need some changes. That’s why I’m here,” Ladd said.

Gladys Jacinto wanted to make her vote count. “Voting is the only way they can hear your voice. It’s the only way that things are going to change,” said Jacinto, who is originally from El Salvador.

She would not say who got her vote in the council race. “I’ll say this, I go for the democrats,” Jacinto said. “My whole family does.”

By 5:16 p.m. on Tuesday, the line of people waiting to vote stretched out to the school’s lawn. Polling volunteers said 321 people had voted by that time. But that number did not include the more than 40 people in line waiting to vote or the people inside voting.

“I’ve never seen it like this before, and I always vote,” Ladd said.

In Newport Beach, the stories seemed to be the same: People were voting because they say it’s their civic duty. At 6 p.m. at Mariners Elementary School, the line of people waiting to vote stretched well outside the door. The school was the site for two precincts — Newport’s biggest and smallest areas. Mayor Don Webb was the first person to vote at the school, poll worker Tina McKinley said.

“This is the highest percentage of voters for this precinct,” she said. “We’re thrilled at the turnout.”

Orange County Registrar of Voters spokesman Brett Rowley said he hadn’t heard of any specific problems at Newport-Mesa polling places, although the volume of voters at Mariners prompted workers to request more booths. The county supplied them with no problems, and it also provided paper ballots, said poll worker Mary Butler.

Rowley said the long lines reported in many precincts weren’t a surprise. “It’s something that we said would happen because we’ve got a long ballot, and it’s taking people a long time to get through it,” Rowley said.

Around 7 p.m., Rowley said about 20% of polling places were reporting lines. The registrar said earlier that anyone in line at 8 p.m. would be allowed to vote, though polls were scheduled to close then.

Earlier in the day, Costa Mesa residents Bill and Margret Hodges had to wait more than an hour to cast their votes.

“We just had to stand and stand and stand [in line],” Margret Hodges said in a phone interview. “It was very slow moving.”

At Costa Mesa’s Eastside St. Mary location, more than 350 people had voted, with a line spilling from the hall out into the courtyard. At the larger precinct in Newport, more than 650 people had voted by 6:30 p.m. Both places had several people dropping off absentee ballots.

“I was shocked at the number of people who turned out,” said Toby Tobler, who was in his first day as a poll worker. “But that’s great; it’s a great sign from a civic standpoint.”

Standing in the long lines and waiting for people to fill out this year’s long ballot didn’t get on people’s nerves. Newport Beach resident Kim Leibe said that although it may usually be slightly irritating to stand in a long line, she had no qualms about standing in line Tuesday.

“Normally I might be annoyed, but this is a positive experience, as well as my civic duty, and it would definitely not hinder me from voting,” she said.