Yorba Linda was the only municipality in the seven-city circulation area of the North County News-Tribune to oppose the Proposition 50 redistricting measure in the Nov. 4 election, according to the completed ballot count from Orange County’s Registrar of Voters.
Yorba Linda also tallied the highest voter turnout percentage and the highest mail-in voter percentage of the seven cities.
And interestingly, voters who cast ballots at vote centers in all of the cities except Fullerton opposed the measure, while voters who cast ballots by mail in all of the cities except Yorba Linda favored the measure.
Here’s a rundown of the final vote count in the special election:
Brea: Turnout was 54% or 16,673 of 30,883 registered voters, with “yes” winning 51.7% or 8,626 votes to 8,038 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 8,083 to 7,027 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 543 to 1,011 “no.”
Buena Park: Turnout was 44.9% or 20,888 of 46,501 registered voters, with “yes” winning 60.5% or 12,637 votes to 8,239 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 11,393 to 6,796 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 1,244 to 1,443 “no.” The measure won all five council districts.
Fullerton: Turnout was 50.5% or 41,365 of 81,917 registered voters, with “yes” winning 60.2% or 24,887 votes to 16,459 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 22,262 to 13,987 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 2,625 to 2,472 “no.” The measure won all five council districts.
La Habra: Turnout was 48% or 17,184 of 35,771 registered voters, with “yes” winning 59.3% or 10,184 votes to 6,986 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 9,234 to 5,754 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 950 to 1,232 “no.”
La Palma: Turnout was 51.1% or 5,183 of 10,150 registered voters, with “yes” winning 57.5% or 2,979 votes to 2,201 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 2,797 to 1,930 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 182 to 271 “no.” The measure won all five council districts.
Placentia: Turnout was 54.7% or 18,269 of 33,384 registered voters, with “yes” winning 52.9% or 9,657 votes to 8,607 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 8,752 to 7,223 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 905 to 1,384 “no.” The measure won three council districts and lost District 2 by seven votes and District 4 by 360 votes.
Yorba Linda: Turnout was 58.9% or 29,164 of 49,521 registered voters, with “no” winning 59.9% or 17,478 votes to 11,674 “yes.” Mail-in “no” ballots totaled 14,704 to 10,849 “yes,” and vote center “no” ballots totaled 2,774 to 825 “yes.”
The Orange County turnout was 52.3% or 999,918 of 1,910,326 registered voters, with “yes” winning 55.4% or 554,430 votes to 444,963 “no.” Mail-in “yes” ballots totaled 504,362 to 377,426 “no,” and vote center “yes” ballots totaled 50,068 to 67,537 “no.”
The statewide tally was 64.4% “yes” (7,453,339) and 35.6% “no” (4,116,998).
Jim Drummond is a longtime Yorba Linda resident. He gives his opinion on local issues weekly. Send e-mail to jimdrummond@hotmail.com.