Californians go to the polls

Millions of Californians cast their ballots before the polls finally closed tonight in the nation’s largest state primary, the earliest presidential contest in the state’s history and the first in decades to give their votes enough muscle to help crown the Democratic and Republican nominees.

Elections officials predicted exceptional voter turnout throughout the state, probably driven by the furious last-minute round of campaigning by the candidates and the absence of clear favorite in the Democratic race between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois or the Republican contest between Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Exit polls showed tight races in both parties.

“All indications are we are going to have a record turnout for the California presidential primary, but we won’t know that for sure until we’ve counted the last ballot,” Secretary of State Debra Bowen said.

The California election results are expected to roll in far later than usual, in part because many counties are using paper ballots, which must be fed manually into scanners. Bowen decertified the vast majority of electronic voting machines in the state last year, arguing that they were vulnerable to tampering and have defects that could affect vote tallies.

That may be particularly aggravating for partisans desperate to know who won California because both parties will award delegates based on the winner in each separate congressional district.

This morning, California voters were greeted with clear skies and mild temperatures throughout much of the state. And along with picking presidential nominees they tackled a modest slate of state propositions, familiar to many voters for the meddlesome television ad wars they triggered over the last month.

The ballot included measures that would expand Indian gaming and send more gambling revenue to the state, and retool term limits for state legislators. Voters also were asked to decide whether state community college funding should be locked in, and fees for the students reduced.

Throughout the day, there were scattered reports of problems at polling stations in Los Angeles County and in other areas of the state, specifically for some “decline to state” voters denied the opportunity to vote in the Democratic primary, state elections officials said.

The problem was widespread enough for Bowen to issue a news release late today that reminded “decline-to-state” voters, commonly known as independents, that they had to right to request a ballot to vote in the Democratic or American Independent Party primary.

“With every election we do hear of pockets of confusion. This time around we are again hearing of some isolated incidents but the election is running smoothly across the state,” said Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for Bowen.

There also were complaints that workers at some poll stations failed to instruct decline-to-state voters in Los Angeles County how to properly fill out their ballots.

“We are not aware that any other county has that extra hurdle for decline to state voters,” Winger said, adding that Los Angeles County officials responded that they have had similar ballots in the past and that it is not a new requirement. “Los Angeles County assures us they have done quite a lot of training of poll workers and voter education. We are waiting to hear how the election went for decline-to-state voters.”

Along with California’s delegate-rich primary, voters in the 23 other “Super Tuesday” states went to the polls today, with the biggest surprises bouncing the way of Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, winner of the West Virginia caucuses and the projected winner in several Southern states.

But California is the biggest prize for both parties and as today’s election drew closer, so did the battle for the party faithful.

Clinton was far ahead of Obama in California a few months ago, but saw her lead deteriorate as the Illinois senator escalated his efforts to reach liberals and young voters, along with Latinos and African Americans. At the same time, however, Clinton launched an aggressive television ad campaign and sent her popular husband, former President Bill Clinton, up and down the state to rally the same voters.

Obama’s message of change resonated with Lillie Hayes, 71, who this morning arrived early at her polling place at Tom Bradley Elementary School in Leimert Park.

“We need some youth in the White House to invigorate some real change,” said the 30-year resident of her tree-lined neighborhood. “We need something other than the same old politics of the past.”

But Mojgan Talassazan, 37, of Beverly Hills said Clinton’s experience – and gender – helped win her vote, along with her stands on the war and education.

“She knows how to get the country moving. I get the feeling that if Obama were to sit behind the wheel, he might not know where he’s going,” said Talassazan, who cast her ballot for Clinton at El Rodeo Elementary School.

Voters’ interest in the contest for the Republican nomination escalated in California as McCain’s lead in the opinion polls appeared to slide, which was enough from Romney to make one last trip to the state Monday night.

Outside the polling station at Columbia Elementary School in El Monte, retired business owner Raymond Flores said he supported former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson until the “Law and Order” actor dropped out of the race. Now he supports Romney. The candidate’s work on the Salt Lake City Olympics and his position on immigration were key to his decision, Flores said.

“I would probably be even stricter on immigration than Romney,” Flores said, adding that he has family members from Mexico who came to the country without authorization. “We need stricter enforcement of the laws that are on the books, and I think Romney will do that.”

In Lakeview Terrace, voice actress Judith Holleman said she would have considered voting for Obama if his name sounded more American. She’s a Republican as well, so she voted for McCain.

“We just really need someone in the White House other than the Clintons, whose term was disgraceful. But there’s no clear candidate; it’s back to getting the least of the worst,” Holleman said.

In California, the state Republican Party has 170 delegates up for grabs in the primary. The party will dole out three delegates to the winner of each of the state’s 53 congressional districts. Eleven at-large delegates also go to the top vote-getter in the state, and three unpledged delegates are granted to the state GOP chairman and the state’s two other Republican National Committee members.

The Democratic Party uses a more complex method to allocate its 370 delegates. The party awards three to six delegates per congressional district, proportional to the vote a candidate received, so any candidate that receives more than 15% of the vote will win at least one delegate. An additional 129 delegates will be awarded to candidates based on their percentage of the statewide vote.

phil.willon@latimes.com

nancy.vogel@latimes.com

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com