What's
behind the mystery of the missing voters in Yorba Linda?
Are
adult-age residents turned off by ever-increasing negative
campaigning, as some academic studies suggest, or are they under the
mistaken impression they can avoid jury duty if they don't register
to vote?
Whatever
the reason, the decline of registered voters and election turnout is
significant in this community, as evidenced by the number of
residents who sign-up to vote and who cast ballots.
Here's
the data: An all-time high of 45,494 Yorba Lindans were registered
to vote in the 2012 Presidential election, and 35,164 actually cast
ballots. That dropped to 39,863 registrants for this year's June
primary – despite an increase in population – with only 20,658
casting ballots.
The
same is true for Yorba Linda's two county islands, Fairlynn and
Country Club, which had 1,682 registered voters in November 2012,
declining to 1,457 for this June's primary election.
Of
course, voter participation always is less for a primary ballot than
a general election, but a drop of more than 5,000 of Yorba Linda's
registered voters over four years can't be explained by the usual
reasons the county Registrar of Voters offers for voter roll changes.
Aside
from normal fluctuations due to moves into or out of the city and
adding new 18-year-olds and dropping deceased residents, officials
remove from the registration list individuals who do not respond to
inquiries after missing two consecutive general elections.
Registration
has picked up a bit since the primary, with 284 voters added in seven
weeks for a 40,147 total. The 2012 jump between the primary and
general elections was 1,902; but the 2014 cycle saw a drop of 545
voters from June to November.
Last
day to register to vote Nov. 8 is Oct. 24.
Meanwhile,
filing for City Council, water board and school trustee positions
scheduled for the November ballot continues through Aug. 12, extended
to Aug. 17 if an incumbent doesn't file.
Twenty-four-year
Yorba Linda Water District director Mike Beverage said he won't seek
a new term, but 12-year director Ric Collett filed his declaration of
candidacy July 21 for an election expected to be the most hard-fought
in the district's 57 years as a public agency.
Beverage
is the city's third longest-serving elected official at 28 years,
including his 1982-86 council stint. Only Paul Armstrong, with 41
years (13 on the old Yorba Linda elementary school board and 28 on
the water board), and Hank Wedaa, with 30 council years, served
longer. School trustee Karin Freeman will have 29 years when her
current term ends in 2018.
Most
of the water district's voters are Yorba Lindans, but the territory
includes parts of three other cities and county islands. The most
recent registration breakdown is from 2010: Yorba Linda, 41,489;
Placentia, 4,626; Anaheim, 457; Brea, 137; two Yorba Linda county
islands, 891; East Placentia county island, 632.