Go back to Election '94 pageSAN FRANCISCO -- In what could decide the fate of several high-profile campaigns, Californians appeared to be voting today at the optimistic rate projected by the state, according to early estimates.
Afternoon surveys of polling places indicated that the Secretary of State's prediction of a 60.2 percent voter turnout was on the mark. That figure is nearly 2 percent higher than in November 1990 when Governor Wilson was elected.
Although officials from many counties were too busy to file reports with the state, those who did indicated that turnout was approaching 30 percent by 3 p.m. "That's a little ahead of the same time in 1990, " said Melissa Warren of the Secretary of State's office.
Both Republicans and Democrats staged elaborate get-out-the-vote drives today to try to get the edge in one of the state's nastiest -- and certainly most costly -- political seasons. The projections for a higher turnout than in 1990, which include requests for absentee ballots, were influenced by two of the most bitter campaigns: Republican Michael Huffington's bid to unseat Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and the battle over Proposition 187, which would bar illegal immigrants from receiving many social services. "Proposition 187 seems to be driving turnout, that and the U.S. Senate race," Warren said.
Although Democrats enjoy a 49-to-37 registration advantage, a higher percentage of GOP voters tend to mark their ballots.
Backers of Proposition 187 have seen the measure's once-commanding lead in the polls shrivel, and a high Democratic turnout could send the initiative down to defeat.
That could spell trouble for Governor Wilson, who fought his way up from a double-digit deficit to take a comfortable lead in public opinion surveys over challenger Kathleen Brown. If enough Democrats turn out to defeat Proposition 187, they could also provide the numbers to deny Wilson a second term.
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