It’s no surprise that California, with the exception of large, sparsely-populated swaths of Central and Northern California, went to President-elect Joe Biden. The surprises were instead reserved for the ballot initiatives and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Carson mayoral election and Los Angeles Unified School District’s board races.
Of 51,382 registered voters in San Pedro, 27,750 voted in the 2020 Nov. 3 General Election. Of those, 18,098 voted for former Vice President Joe Biden to become the 46th president to President Donald J. Trump’s 8,658. There was a 54.01% voter turnout. Biden garnered 65.22% to Trump’s 31.20%.
Of 20,208 registered voters in Wilmington, 8,175 voted. Of those, 6,133 voted for Biden to Trump’s 1,739. Voter turnout was 40% and Biden garnered 75% of the vote.
In Carson, 25,418 out of 50,153 registered voters, voted. Of those, 18,880 voted for Biden to Trump’s 5,822. Voter turnout was 50% and Biden garnered 74%.
In Torrance, 60,179 out of 92,750 registered voters voted. Of those, 36,129 went for Biden, while 21,836 went for Trump. Voter turnout was 65% and Biden garnered 60% of the vote.
In Lomita, 7,411 out of 13,141 registered voters voted. Of those, 4,251 went for Biden, while 2,893 went for Trump. Voter turnout was 56 % and Biden garnered 57% of the vote.
Carson’s first mayoral and city council election since converting to a district based electoral system resulted in City Councilwoman Lula Davis Holmes and City Councilman Jim Dear being the top two vote-getters with neither crossing the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff.
Davis-Holmes received 10,476 votes to Dear’s 9,675 (or Davis-Holmes 32% to Dear’s 30%). Mayor Albert Robles placed third with only 22% of the vote.
In the Los Angeles Unified school board race, Tanya Ortiz-Franklin won handily with 49% of the vote. Ortiz-Franklin won Carson (54% to 31%), Lomita (48.01% to 28%), Rancho Palos Verdes (44 %to 32%) and San Pedro (43.73% to 38.14%) by wide-margins, while Patricia Castellanos won Wilmington (44.60% to 45.54%) by the slimmest of margins.
Prop. 14
Authorizes bonds to continue funding stem cell and other medical research.
A “yes” vote supports issuing $5.5 billion general obligation bonds for the state’s stem cell research institute and making changes to the institute’s governance structure and programs.
San Pedro, Torrance and Lomita voted no on Prop. 14, opposing the issuance of $5.5 billion general obligation bonds for the state’s stem cell research institute. But San Pedro’s vote was the closest with 46.11% voting yes and 46.90% voting no. Wilmington, the City of Carson and Long Beach voted “yes” in support of Prop. 14.
Prop. 15
San Pedro (51.57% to 43.11%), Torrance (55.25% to 40.24%) and Lomita (56.16% to 38.66%) voted together to say no to Proposition 15 which would have amended the state constitution to require commercial and industrial properties to be taxed based on their market value, rather than their purchase price.
Prop. 16
San Pedro (52.36% to 41.39%), Torrance (58.30% to 35.84%) and Lomita (57.63% to 35.76%) voted together to say no to Prop. 16, which asked California voters to amend the Constitution of California to repeal 1996’s Proposition 209, which banned the use of affirmative action in California’s public sector. Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach voted in favor of Prop. 16.
Prop. 17
Allows parolees to vote.
Strong majorities in San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Torrance, Lomita and Long Beach voted yes on Prop 17, the ballot measure would amend the state constitution to allow people with felonies who are on parole to vote.
Prop. 18
San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach voted in favor of allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primary and special elections if they will turn 18 by the subsequent general election. Torrance and Lomita voted no.
Prop. 19
Protection for the elderly and the disabled after wildfires.
San Pedro (47.53% to 45.97%) sided with Torrance (52.67% to 40.50%) and Lomita (49.97% to 42.85%), albeit by comparatively slim margins, said no to Prop. 19, which would have permitted homeowners who are 55, severely disabled, or whose homes were destroyed by wildfire or disaster, to transfer their primary residence’s property tax base value to a replacement residence of any value, anywhere in the state. Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach voted yes.
Prop. 20
Strong majorities in San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Torrance, Lomita and Long Beach voted no on Prop. 20, which would have restricted parole for certain felonies. Prop. 20 would have added crimes to the list of violent felonies for which early parole is restricted; recategorize certain types of theft and fraud crimes as wobblers (chargeable as misdemeanors or felonies); and require DNA collection for certain misdemeanors.