With the results of the June 7 primary election now certified, turnout wound up being 50.94 percent in San Diego County, Registrar of Voters Michael Vu reported Tuesday.
The total was on the low end of projections by Vu and local political observers.
“With the Republican presidential contest all but decided by the time (California’s) primary came around, it probably dampened the turnout,” Vu told City News Service. “It was however, greater than the November 2014 gubernatorial election and the 2012 presidential primary.”
The 2012 presidential primary countywide turnout was 37.4 percent. In 2008, it was 60.7 percent.
In the city of San Diego, turnout last month was slightly higher at 52.14 percent, according to Vu.
San Diego had a mayoral election, a competitive race for city attorney, and five City Council seats up for grabs.
On Monday night, a sharply divided San Diego City Council directed the city attorney to conduct legal analysis and draft ballot language for potential measures that would require November runoffs for all city offices, and schedule all propositions for the fall general election.
Supporters said representatives and major issues shouldn’t be decided by a small portion of the electorate, while dissenters said people can make up their own mind on whether to vote in June. The proposals cleared the City Council on a pair of 5-4 votes that favored the Democratic majority on the panel.
The council has to vote again in a few weeks whether to actually place the items on ballot. The public needs to make the change since it amends the City Charter.
–City News Service