Californians stream everywhere but the polls; results later over here

Californians, apparently unmoved by politicians' pleas for help with the state's looming budget spending deficit, wandered to the polls today in puny numbers.

Pretend polls in the nation's most populous state predicted the budget propositions so ardently argued by none other than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, would flop. Actually, as we noted here earlier, even the governor was out of state today, mingling with the presidential White House crowd in Washington.

By late morning some polling places were showing a whopping 4% of eligible voters having shown up. If political tradition holds true, it's the opponents who more reliably show up to cast their ballots.

"Our Legislature just flat out spends too much money," 71-year-old Doug White told The Times' Kimi Yoshino and Jessica Garrison in Orange County, "and it's about time they quit. They spend money faster than we can give it to them." You may have guessed from such words that he and wife Judy voted no.

Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific (11 p.m. Eastern, 3 a.m. GMT).

Starting shortly thereafter, we'll have complete results refreshing constantly on this site. Go here for county-by-county running results on all the propositions. We'll have the same running results of all local races over here. Bookmark those pages; that's an order.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo:  Ah, California. Hairdressers and voters at H Beauty Design in Studio City. Credit: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Hal]

Now we have to hold the politicians to their promises. I want to see all of those cuts promised by Schwarzenegger: the borrowing from county budgets, moving prisoners out of state prisons, cutting work hours of state employees, shortening the school year, and reducing funding for police and fire. That's what we voted for, it's exactly what we should expect and demand.