Vista voters continue to trickle in at polls

VISTA --- About halfway through today's special election in Vista, voters were trickling in at the polls to decide whether Vista should adopt a type of municipal constitution called a charter.

The measure, Proposition C, is the only item on today's ballot and officials had predicted that voter turnout would be low.
County Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler said this afternoon that as of 10 a.m., the highest turnout at any polling place in Vista had been 20 voters. "The turnout looks like it's going to be pretty low," she added.

"We're looking at a turnout well below 20 percent, which is somewhat low for a stand-alone city election, but not necessarily," Seiler said. She said turnout for special city elections can vary widely depending on what issue is on the ballot.

By about 1 p.m. today, roughly 30 people had voted at a polling station at New Community Church in downtown Vista. Precinct inspector Leo Schumacher said he thought the station would probably see 80 voters by the end of the day, compared to the 450 people who voted there in November's general election.

Vista has 31,654 registered voters in the city, with about 8,000 of those classified as permanent absentee voters. About, 3,500 absentee ballots had been returned by today's election, Seiler said.

Polls in Vista opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. County officials said they expect to have an unofficial count tonight and a certified result by the end of the week.

For proposition and polling station information, visit County of San Diego - Registrar of Voters, or call 858-565-5800.