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Boy Scouts from Troupe 855 were on hand at HEW to receive the first ballot deliveries from around the county Tuesday night. There was an air of excitement as volunteers and observers awaited some of the first ballot boxes.
<I>This story has been corrected since it's original publication.</I>
Some Nevada County voters went to familiar polling places Tuesday, only to find they were in the wrong place.
In two reported instances, Chicago Park residents ended up voting in Nevada City.
Clerk-Recorder Kathleen Smith said she changed a number of polling places for the election to get precincts with less than 1,000 people and to give former mail voters a real place to cast a ballot. That shifted voters to places they weren't used to, and poll workers said there was confusion.
Smith also said people should have checked their voter information pamphlets for their polling place "because the location is on the back."
The county's chief election official said many people had called in, but most had been satisfied when given an explanation and the correct place to vote.
Some Nevada County voters went to familiar polling places Tuesday, only to find they were in the wrong place.
In two reported instances, Chicago Park residents ended up voting in Nevada City.
Clerk-Recorder Kathleen Smith said she changed a number of polling places for the election to get precincts with less than 1,000 people and to give former mail voters a real place to cast a ballot. That shifted voters to places they weren't used to, and poll workers said there was confusion.
Smith also said people should have checked their voter information pamphlets for their polling place "because the location is on the back."
The county's chief election official said many people had called in, but most had been satisfied when given an explanation and the correct place to vote.
"You can go to other counties and have your polling place change all the time ..." Smith said. "It's subject to change every time."
Kevin Gallino has been voting at the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building right behind his house for 18 years.
Gallino admitted his new polling place was on his voter information pamphlet but said he and his surprised neighbors - some of whom have voted at the Veterans Building since 1970 - didn't think to check it.
"It was a real shock to me," Gallino said. "The place I went to (a nearby church) had the same problem. The people there had to go somewhere else to vote."
Poll workers at the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Office in Nevada City said they had a steady stream of confused voters.
"An older couple drove here from Chicago Park," and they weren't happy, according to poll worker Linda Johnson.
Kevin Gallino has been voting at the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building right behind his house for 18 years.
Gallino admitted his new polling place was on his voter information pamphlet but said he and his surprised neighbors - some of whom have voted at the Veterans Building since 1970 - didn't think to check it.
"It was a real shock to me," Gallino said. "The place I went to (a nearby church) had the same problem. The people there had to go somewhere else to vote."
Poll workers at the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Office in Nevada City said they had a steady stream of confused voters.
"An older couple drove here from Chicago Park," and they weren't happy, according to poll worker Linda Johnson.
"The question was, 'Why am I voting here when I live in Chicago Park?"' said election official Mary Ann MacDonald.
"A lot of people who normally vote here had to go elsewhere," Johnson said. "Some had voted here for many, many years."
Two people who did vote at the veterans building in Grass Valley had different reasons for casting their vote.
"I'm interned at the state capitol, so I'm into politics," said Jacelyn Swartz. "I told all my friends to vote today and hopefully they will come out and make change for younger people."
"The measures were important," said Roger Marchese. "We have a particular viewpoint espoused by the governor in the propositions and the duty to accept or reject them."
Absentee ballots flooded the Nevada County elections office during the week before the election and last night, with voters bringing them to county election headquarters at the last minute.
"A lot of people who normally vote here had to go elsewhere," Johnson said. "Some had voted here for many, many years."
Two people who did vote at the veterans building in Grass Valley had different reasons for casting their vote.
"I'm interned at the state capitol, so I'm into politics," said Jacelyn Swartz. "I told all my friends to vote today and hopefully they will come out and make change for younger people."
"The measures were important," said Roger Marchese. "We have a particular viewpoint espoused by the governor in the propositions and the duty to accept or reject them."
Absentee ballots flooded the Nevada County elections office during the week before the election and last night, with voters bringing them to county election headquarters at the last minute.
In Nevada County, the total absentee ballots sent out was about 26,000 of 64,000 registered voters, or almost 41 percent.
"There's a tremendous amount of absentees," said Grass Valley veterans building poll worker Georgie Coulter.
Absentee balloting has been steady in Nevada County in recent years after state requirements to use them were relaxed. In the 1990 general gubernatorial election, about 21 percent of those who voted, or 7,400, did so by absentee, according to county statistics.
That climbed to 45 percent of those who voted, or 20,000, in the October 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis and election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. At last year's presidential general election, 27,000 voters, or 49 percent who voted, were absentee in Nevada County.
<I>To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.</I>
"There's a tremendous amount of absentees," said Grass Valley veterans building poll worker Georgie Coulter.
Absentee balloting has been steady in Nevada County in recent years after state requirements to use them were relaxed. In the 1990 general gubernatorial election, about 21 percent of those who voted, or 7,400, did so by absentee, according to county statistics.
That climbed to 45 percent of those who voted, or 20,000, in the October 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis and election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. At last year's presidential general election, 27,000 voters, or 49 percent who voted, were absentee in Nevada County.
<I>To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.</I>
