Election 2020: Brad Avery, Noah Blom are ahead in Newport Beach City Council elections
Black tape marked off 6 feet on the brick in front of Newport Beach City Hall.
Voters waiting in line rifled through county-issued voting guides on propositions. Drivers turned in on Civic Center Drive, passing bright, yellow signs directing vehicles to where they could park. One voter cut through the line, an official ballot envelope raised overhead as a poll worker approached to take it.
As one voter left, another took their place — it was Election Day.
Though election totals are expected to be delayed due to an increase in mail-in voting this year, data reported at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday night by the Orange County Registrar’s Office indicated incumbent Brad Avery leading with 58.98% votes in District 2, which includes Newport Heights/Cliffhaven and West Newport.
In District 5, which includes Balboa Island, candidate Noah Blom was leading with 55.17% of the vote. Mayor Will O’Neill, running uncontested in District 7, which includes Newport Coast, had secured 100% of the votes counted.
“The campaign’s feeling really great. The support has been so ridiculously strong and the word on the street just has been marvelous,” Blom said. “We’re feeling very strong. We’ve heard great numbers abounding and some polls right now. We’re feeling really positive. We’re preparing for victory and other than that, you know, I think we’ll see more in how the trends start playing.”
Avery said he was balancing his attention between the local and national elections, adding that he’d check when results updated.
“There’s plenty of elections where the first shot isn’t indicative of the result,” Avery said, “but we’ll take it for sure.”
Rep. Harley Rouda is slightly behind challenger Michelle Steel in the race for the 48th Congressional District, which comprises much of the Orange County coastline, including Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.
O’Neill said Tuesday that running unopposed meant that he needed just one vote to win, but he felt gratified people still took the time to cast their votes in District 7.
“I am grateful for the confidence our city has placed in me and I look forward to continuing to serve Newport Beach,” O’Neill said.
Lines were short at local voting centers Tuesday afternoon and voters waiting in front of Newport Beach City Hall reported wait times of about 15 to 30 minutes, but in other parts of the city, wait times were next to none. About 61,048 residents in Newport Beach are registered to vote, according to election data.
It took Tom and Danielle Eastmond about half an hour from start to finish to vote, they said. They said they felt it was a little slower than at their old neighborhood polling center because there were more people at vote centers, adding that voting this year didn’t feel much different except for the masks.
“We’re kind of traditional voters and we wanted to have our final say and our final decision on the actual day that voting is supposed to happen,” Danielle Eastmond said.
Tom Eastmond said he liked voting to be “a bit of a civic ritual” and tipped his straw boater hat, which he wore to go vote.
“It makes you feel a little bit more tuned into your community to vote in person with other community members,” Danielle Eastmond said.
Reilly Roden, 30, said she came down to turn in her mail-in ballot in person on Tuesday because she previously experienced long lines voting in other elections and she felt it was the easy and fastest option to vote. Roden said she votes in every presidential election.
“I think there’s a lot of angst and stress around today. I think people are almost cautious about the conversations that they have today, but I also think it’s exciting. I’m hoping for the best outcome per the best amount of people, but I think a lot of people are just hopeful but also very stressed and very anxious,” Roden said.
School board election results for the Newport-Mesa Unified, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach City, Huntington Beach Union and Laguna Beach Unified school districts.
Tuesday was the first time Damaris Perez, 42, voted.
Perez, a Costa Mesa resident, said she registered on Election Day and came to vote at the Marina Park Community Center after lunch.
“This is the first time anyone has ever in our time lived in a pandemic. I think I needed to do something to make a difference for our entire nation,” said Perez, proudly showing her first “I Voted” sticker. Perez said she planned to vote in every election going forward, describing the experience as emotional.
The same was true for Balboa resident George Hernandez, 33.
Hernandez said he lived down the street and wanted to cast his ballot in person at the Marina Park Community Center instead of mailing in his ballot, concerned that it might not be received or counted.
“I’m definitely seeing more people coming out to vote than the last election. From my group of people, it seems like everyone’s going out. This is my first time voting ever,” said Hernandez, who added that he wanted to vote in the last election but didn’t get to.
Alexander Johnson accompanied his mother, Ashlee Williams, to vote at the OASIS Senior Center in-person on Tuesday. Johnson said he was 19, making this the first election he was eligible to vote in. Williams said her father also voted this year for the first time.
Williams said she voted in person on Sunday because she didn’t trust that her mail-in ballot would be counted in.
Johnson said he felt it was important to come out to cast his vote because “it’s just what you do” and that he didn’t have to wait to vote at the OASIS Senior Center. He said he wanted a say in who would be the next president, but he saw many of his friends were uncertain how or why they should vote in this election.
“I’m nervous because I don’t think we’ll find out today exactly who won, and I’m afraid of just how people will take it,” Williams said.
Check dailypilot.com for continuing election coverage and results.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
