Election day in L.A. beset by the usual mishaps
In Granada Hills, voting devices were missing; in Mid-City and South L.A., some polling places were without power. But Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan says the mix-ups aren't all that unusual.
Ballots were mistakenly left on car seats, someone forgot to deliver voting devices, updated voter lists didn't make it to the polls on time, and Mother Nature sent the season's first rainstorm, disrupting power to four polling places.
All in all, a pretty average election day, or so said Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan.
There was mass confusion at Woodley Community Church in Granada Hills, where poll workers mistakenly announced to a long line of would-be voters that the ballots had been stolen.
That prompted Judi Debilzan to call the police. "People were getting riled up when they were told they don't have ballots," Debilzan said.
After a few hours of mixed signals -- during which poll workers advised voters they could cast provisional ballots, causing many people to leave -- the problem was rectified. The ballots had not been stolen; actually, the device that holds ballots in the voting booth had been misplaced. Sheriff's deputies eventually delivered the machines.
Elsewhere, lines were long and nerves were frayed when the power went out at Smyrna Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Los Angeles, where the sign identifies it as "The Friendliest Church in Town."
The modest, low-slung church, which served as a polling site for two precincts, was one of four polling places in Los Angeles -- including three others in the Mid-City area -- affected by scattered power outages that hit a wide swath of the city this morning. With no power, election officials were unable to use the electronic ballot-scanning machines that monitor ballots for irregularities.
At one point, an exasperated clerk predicted, "There is a 50-50 chance these votes won't count."
Poll workers had already been forced to improvise after arriving at the church at 6:30 a.m. to find the lights were out. Although they quickly set up tables and voting booths in the parking lot, the large turnout nearly overwhelmed poll workers.
Election clerk Valencia Allen called the lines "hu-normous," adding it was the largest voter turnout she'd ever seen.
Uncertainty over the fate of the unscanned ballots created tense scenes. Some voters invoked the 2000 elections and voiced fears that unknown forces were conspiring to deny their votes .
Michelle Marshburn leaned on a card table that served as a makeshift office for election inspector Marva Berry, demanding answers.
"We want to be certain that our vote is being counted this time. This is an important day for me," she said, to which Berry responded, "I am doing the best that I can."
Marshburn was skeptical that the early morning rain played a role in disrupting power. "The power has been on all week," she said, hands on hips. "And today of all days . . ."
Medina and Cart are Times staff writers
mark.medina@latimes.com, julie.cart@latimes.com
Times staff writer Joanna Lin contributed to this report.
