Keep refreshing this post from now until the end of Election Day for the best damn coverage in Orange County, period. Latest updates will always be at the top—enjoy! Oh, and #fucktrump.
2:42 A.M: Lemme sleep, and I'll give you something good, m'kay? Too faded for the obvious reasons #fucktrump
11:10 P.M. As I'm waiting for my Uber, standing in the parking lot, excusing myself from my bar because I'm silently crying, I see Johnny of Johnny's Saloon and Hek of HB Tattoo getting out of a car. I wave to Johnny good night. Both men approach me. “Are you ok?” Johnny asks me. “No,” I say. They try to make a couple of light-hearted political jokes to try to make me smile.
“It's not that Trump is going to be our president,” I explain. “I doubt he's seriously going to put four years in as president. He's not. What hurts is after all he's said against us, against women, against all of us—what hurts is all of the people who voted him in. That's what hurts.” They both give me a hug. (TH)
10:56 P.M. The election is apparently being called for Trump. Massive protest breaks out in downtown Fullerton bars. Bros in plaid shirts and hoochie mamas in dresses two sizes too small bounce to horrible DJ music. Good luck, America. You are going to need it. (JB)
10:44 P.M. Props to Diane Goldstein for representing OC at the Prop. 64. party in LA. There is an impressive female presence for this campaign. “The fight doesn't stop tonight,” Goldstein tells a crowd of about 200 drunk and stoned people. “For me, it only ends when we eliminate our drug policy…and change law enforcement for the better.” Everyone screams and cheers, but everyone also seems extra drunk and stoned, both in celebration of AUMA passing and Trump taking the lead. Sigh . . . (Mary C)
10:24 P.M. Lots of happy older white people in yucky clothes on the patio of Roscoe's in downtown Fullerton. And why not? It is Mayor Jennifer Fitzgeralds election night party. And she and fellow incumbent, as well as Larry Bennett, who sort of ran on the same ticket the last time as Fitz the last time we bothered to look, are the top three vote getters in the Fullerton City Council election. Plus, the bullshit map pushed by SOCO bars that basically carves up downtown Fullerton among several at-large districts, which favors the aforementioned bars, is leading. And you can just smell that this terribly uninteresting and non-photogenic crowd has a soft-on for Trump. (JB)
10:10 P.M. “I hate politics, says the bouncer at Proof Bar as he looks over my ID. “Can I just go somewhere to hide?”
“I hear ya,” I reply. “Did you vote today?”
“Of course, he says. Inside, I buy a Stella Artois while my bestie orders a water. “Oh no, says Crystal, the bartender. “You're getting a drink, we all need a drink right now. It's on me.” Because Amy is driving, Crystal buys her an O'Doul's. This is the one silver lining to our day. (AM)
9:49 P.M. Sharon Quirk-Silva is still at around 48.9 percent. But she ain't worried, saying she was around the same place in the June primary and pulled it out. Nor is she worried that a Clinton defeat would usher in a ripple effect among people that if national politics is a fustercluck of idiocy, that local politics will be ignored. “Yes, if I were to win tonight and the top of the ticket loses, it would cast a shadow,” the Democrat says. “But it doesn't change the fact that local politics matter. The things that matter in your daily life, the libraries, schools, roads, they still matter. So I remain optimistic.” Brian Torres, a graphic designer who supports Silva, says he's scared shitless. “But I have always felt that the most important politics is local. What happens in this city won't change regardless of who is president.” (JB)
9:47 P.M. People are closing their tabs and filing out of Velvet Lounge with their heads down. (DL)
9:29 P.M. Dana is now telling the Skosh Monahan's crowd, “who've taken so much criticism from the establishment Republicans,” that he respects them. Give the fool credit where it's due. He was the most high-profile OC Republican to support Trump, standing by him and trashing those fellow party members who didn't. No doubt Trump will reward Dana for his loyalty; no doubt, we need a comet to smash into Earth about now. (GA)
9:26 P.M. On KCAL/Channel 9, as a reporter at the Prop. 64 victory party explains what legalization of recreational marijuana means for California, a woman who is chewing something walks up behind him holding a plate full of cookies. The market is expected to tumble tomorrow but hold onto that Nabisco stock. (Matt C)
9:16 P.M. Fox News is playing at The Continental Room. I take a seat and see that the electoral votes are now 254-209. A guy sitting next to me says, “I know, I know. We're fucked. I'm going back home tomorrow.” His friend says, “We're all gonna die, but at least we have legal weed.” (YV)
9:07 P.M. Today is a “great victory for America,” Congressman Dana Rohrabacher tells a rambunctious crowd at his self-proclaimed Liberty Lounge above Skosh Monahan's in Costa Mesa. “You—YOU—are the 'U' in 'U.S.' I want to congratulate all of you—you did your part.” Wearing an arm sling, a MAGA hat and a blue blazer over a ratty Hawaiian shirt, Dana goes on to rail “against a corrupt liberal establishment and vows to return to DC. “And we will wend the corruption. And we will boot out everyone in Washington.”
The crowd roars. Soon, chants of “LOCK HER UP” start, and Dana says everyone will sing “God Bless America” once the race is called. He starts taking photos with wide-eyes young volunteers, as a euphoric crowd looks on. “All those people who didn't believe us!” said a bigger gentleman, barely containing his glee. “Who were telling us who was going to win! They're going to get SCREWED!” (GA)
9:00 P.M. Santa Ana's finest activists are gathered at Chicanos Unidos headquarters in teh city. Santa Ana council candidate Ana Urzua Alcaraz and mayoral hopeful Benjamin Vazquez arrived after a busy final day of phone banking and precinct walking. “I'm not worried about the early numbers,” says Vazques. “This is a grassroots ground campaign.” (GSR)
8:56 P.M. Clinton has a projected 209 electoral votes; Trump has 244. Motorhead's “Ace of Spades” comes on the stereo here at Johnny's. “You win some, lose some, it's all the same to me/The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say/I don't share your greed, the only card I need/Is the Ace of Spades.” And leave it to Lemmy to provide comfort from beyond the grave. “What would Lemmy say? I lament. “He'd order another Jack and Coke,” my friend Robert, sitting next to me at the bar, suggests. “Barkeep!” (TH)
8:55 P.M. The streets of DTSA are dimly lit and barren. Melancholy indie rock music is playing in the distance. I walk into the OC Democratic Party gathering at the Yost Theater which is much larger than the OC GOP Party I just left at the Chinese Palace in Newport Beach. Dems at the Yost are participating in light chatter rather than cheering, and their faces look somber rather than elated. I feel like I'm at one of the saddest parties in Orange County right now. (DD)
8:28 P.M. Trying to leave the Laguna Beach Democratic Club victory party but not before an extremely drunk woman almost breaks my wrist and then spends five minutes apologizing. I'm pretty sure she has no idea that Trump just won Florida; she's really in for a nasty hangover. Four years worth perhaps, but she's blissfully unaware of it now. Out on the sidewalk, a man on his phone wails, “But you waid she was up 40 minutes ago!” He hangs up and says Nevada's going for Trump. Nevada? Two women stare through the storefront window at the TV and silently nod their heads in affirmation, expressionless. (LB)
8:26 P.M. Mark, a bartender at the Yost for the OC Democratic Party clambake, says he is a born and raised Orange County Republican. “Born and raised, man, born and rasied. But it is disheartening to see what has happened to the [national] party. So, today, I am definitely not.” (JB)
8:18: P.M. “Fuck Donald Trump!” I hear two girls chant numerous times as I make my way through downtown Fullerton. With Trump in the lead and time running out, I'm sure there are many more of these chants to come. (Yvonne Villasenor)
8:17 P.M. At the Hills Hotel, the same table of hicks is getting drunker. “Dude, all the propositions passed,” some guy says. “Wiat, condoms in porn didn't, but weed did. Haha, can you believe that?” Another guy: “Yeah, of course it did, so you mean now we need a background check to buy ammo? Im going right over tomorrow to buy all I can. There won't be any ammo left. Then I'm going to sell right after the first of the year, haha.” (AG)
8:07 P.M. “Its because of all those goddamn niggers,” says an older white man who is probably in his 60s as Hillary wins a state. His Southern drawl complements his white button-up with the American flag on it. He's originally from West Virginia but now resides in Anaheim. “Every time I see that map, it nearly gives me a heart attack,” he tells me as we both watch Fox News. “Look at all that red!” he yells. (DD)
8:06 P.M. Jordan Klepper, “reporting” from Trump HQ for The Daily Show, says “You know that lie we tell children about how you can become president? It's true now. Literally anyone can be president, yes. It helps if you have a penis.” (Matt C)
8:05 P.M. At the Hills hotel, eight hicks are sitting around the table with whatever trashy beer they could find. One who is wearing a plaid shirt stands up and throws his napkin on the table. “She needs to lose,” he yells. “She needs to lose bad!” (AG)
8:02 P.M. The biggest cheer of the night at the OC Democratic shindig at the Yost just happened: Clinton is projected to win California. Duh. That was about as unexpected as a Kershaw meltdown in the playoffs. (JB)
7:50 P.M. A mixture of anxiety and disbelief permeates the Anaheim office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CNN plays on the big screen with Michigan too close to call but leaning towards Trump. “What about Dearborn? a woman in a hijab asks. A Trump supporter says on television that she's voting for the Donald because “he tells it like it is.”
The election viewing party collectively moans. “This is the number one reason why people support Trump,” CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush says, waving his finger. “I don't believe he will win,” another man says. Just then, a woman leaves the viewing party early with these parting words: “Insha'allah, insha'allah!” (GSR)
7:46 P.M. At the Laguna Beach Democratic Club Trump was just announced as the Ohio winner on MSNBC—which is blaring on speakers—and nobody noticed. A “victory party” the banner in the window claims and that's what the atmosphere is like. It's loud, boisterous. People are partying or staring into phones. A young, female Trump supporter is being interviewed and heard to say she thought Trump would bring back integrity. Boos ring out. (LB)
7:45 P.M. The crowd sitting at the Stave in Long Beach gasps when it sees the states that are voting for Trump vs. Hillary. “We can't let that toupee'd piece of shit become our president!” the guy next to me screams. Those who care about the election knock back drinks in silence with their eyes glued to the TV. The electoral map reads Trump 167, Clinton 122. The energy inside of the Stave is electric, but in a bad way. “FUCK!” wails the guy next to me as he sips his beer. (Mary C)
7:41 P.M. CNN's projection of Clinton winning Virginia provided the first burst of enthusiasm at the OC Democratic Party soiree. Chants of “Hill-a-ree!, Hill-a-ree! waft through the Yost, but all I care about is finding a safe place to stash my backpack. It's as muggy as an alligator's jockstrap in here. (JB)
7:35 P.M. “I don't want any beer anymore,” Party Guy—his name is Newbie—says to the bartender at China Palace. “But the guy over there wants to buy wine.”
“TRUMP!” the guy tells Newbie. “Let's get this party started!”
Newbie gladly accepts a beer, and the two start talking. Cheers keep going up—Trump is winning Michigan. “PA's going down, brah,” the beer-buying guy says, referring to Pennsylvania. “PA!” (GA)
7:33 P.M. Henry Vandermeir, the chair of the OC Democratic Party, is “cautiously optimistic” that when the early voting results are announced at 8:05 p.m., that the party will cut into the Republicans' usually yuge early vote numbers. In 2012, Dems trailed in early vote totals by 20 points. This year, Vandermeir says, the difference is eight points. (JB)
7:24 P.M. Zach Ogie, a 19-year-old Chapman student at the OC Democratic Party party sums up the sentiments of many of the approximately 175 people at the Yost Theater who are watching the CNN election feed: “I thought we were going to win in a landslide, but now I am just confused.” (JB)
7:09 P.M. Early general consensus at the Democratic Party party in SanTana is that the FBI and a lot of angry whites in the Midwest are the reason the presidential election is close. (JB)
7:02 P.M. “Is this the party?” a white guy asked aloud as he slid into the bar at China Palace in Newport Beach. Yep. Gone are the days when the OC GOP would hold lavish parties at the Westin South Coast, with upper-echelon bigwigs hidden away in luxury suites. Instead, the official GOP party tonight is at China Palace, a forgettable Chinese-Japanese spot off PCH that happens to be have been a favorite of longtime GOP head Tom Fuentes.
The early crowd is what you'd expect: middle-aged, white, and nasty. An older gentleman with a Southern drawl said Pennsylvania was leaning toward Hillary because “Philadelphia has so many goddamn niggers,” just like Detroit and Cleveland. He's complaining a lot, but he's the only one. Whoops go up as race after race goes for the Republicans and Trump builds on his lead. “Look at the red!” the party guy says. “It's going to be a route.” (GA)
6:55 P.M. A playground has a sign on the door saying it is a “politics-free zone tonight.” Instead of the election returns, boxing is on both TVs above the bar. Meanwhile, across the way, about 50 people are lined up in front of the Yost Theater for the Orange County Democratic Party party. Most are smiling and laughing, either cheerfully oblivious or still climing to hope that the Dem at the top of the national ticket doesn't receive her own beatdown. (JB)
6:25 P.M. Overheard in downtown SanTana, upon news that Trump is leading in the Electoral College: “I'm not prepared to go back to Mexico yet.” (GA)
6:23 P.M. A bit of history is being made tonight for OC Weekly; for the first time ever, R. Scott Moxley will not be covering the Republican Election Night parties. He's had some of the most beloved writeups among Weekly writers with those dispatches, none more beloved than his 1998 “White Trash Disco,” which chronicled the last gasp of Bob Dornan. But Mox is in the salt mines for another story, so yours truly—who usually hangs out with Democrats—will be GOPing the night.
Tellingly, there are four parties instead of the customary massive gathering at some hotel or other—a sign that the OC GOP is fracturing before our very eyes. And while that might be a cause for celebration any other night, there won't be too many happy faces, as many of the party leaders openly opposed Trump one way or another, and the few local Republican leaders who openly supported Trump are going to bathe in blood.
We'll see what the night brings. But in the meanwhile, I'm dressed appropriately for the task: guayabera, Dickies, and huaraches with my “I Voted” sign. If Trump's victory going to mean the deportation of my raza, I might as well be dressed to the nueves, you know? (GA)
6 P.M. One dead, three injured in shooting that is NOT related to the election or the polling locations, according to Azusa Police. (Matt C)
5:51 P.M. You might assume former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the marble-mouthed redneck who nabbed a whopping 0.1 percent of the 2016 Republican presidential primary vote, would stay deep in the shadows nowadays. But on Fox News he just suggested minority voters in Florida are bought off with “sandwiches and shots of whiskey.” (RSM)
5:46 P.M. Playground in downtown SanTana has declared itself to be a politics-free zone tonight. The televisions are ruthlessly set to ESPNews, but people are staring at smartphones and political discussions—”this can't happen, can it?”—are leaking out around the restaurant. And one of the servers is wearing a T-shirt that says “Donald eres un pendejo”—Donald, you're a jackass. (DL)
5:30 P.M. “Jose Moreno is one of the only Hispanics running for city council,” Mario Maya says. “He cares about the youth.” The 16-year-old Anaheim High School student and Anaheim BROS member stands on the corner of Harbor and Lincoln holding a “Honk for Moreno” sign. Two other BROS and one of Moreno's daughters joins the rush-hour rally. Without big union backing and lackluster support from the Democratic Party of OC, Moreno is left to count on non-voting-age kids with handmade signs to carry on his campaign in its final hours. They're only rallying for him and not other candidates at different intersections in downtown.
Could this be the beginning of the end of Moreno's local politics ambitions against incumbent Jordan Brandman? The answer awaits at the ballot box. “We don't want Brandman to get elected,” Maya says, while cars honk their horns. At least the kiddos are spirited, unlike the paid Steven Chavez Lodge sign twirler spotted on the other side down, seated with his head slumped into his lap! (GSR)
4:47 P.M. Some teen boys have a Trump pinata tied up to a tree, with a sign that says “Candy.” They are filming people hit the pinata with a stick for a school project. “I'm 17 so I can't vote, but at last I can do this,” says one boy. Across the street, a lady passerby yells “Take it down!” while random people off the street come by to take photos. The boys are rehearsing their video introduction. “This is what we do to Republicans for their racism, hate bashing.” Latinos passing by are piqued, taking turns bashing the pinata and cheering each other on. “Hey, I want a Trump leg,” one of them says. (AM)
4:15 P.M.: If you drive by Colima Road and Whittier Boulevard in Whittier, you'll see a lawn filled with pro-Trump, anti-Hillary propaganda. Some signs say “Hitlery” and “Killery,” while a trash can with fake bloody limbs protruding out of it is labeled “Obama,” “Hillary,” and “Bill.” Written on one of the signs in smaller font is, “To the Hillary suporter [sic] who try [sic] to take down signs and throw eggs your [sic] on video and will be dealt with soon.” Stay weird, Whittier! (DD)
3:36 P.M. On MSNBC, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway predicts they'll take either Michigan or Pennsylvania and win the White House. (RSM).
3:27 P.M. Christian conservative hand-wringing over at K-BRITE 740-AM radio continues with hosts conceding Donald Trump is “foul mouthed” but encouraging listeners to ignore the GOP nominee's character flaws because of his conservative policies. They also note in noticeable relief that VP candidate Mike Pence “is a believer . . . he loves Jesus.” (RSM)
3:15 P.M. With an Instagram post, Kareem's Restaurant in Anaheim announced the best election day deal in all OC. Bring an “I Voted” sticker to the Little Arabia eatery like I just did for lunch and get a free falafel sandwich. “One guy asked if he could get another sandwich if he brings the sticker next week,” Chef Nesrine Omari jokes. “I told him it depends on who's president.” The fate of free falafels awaits! (GSR)
3:05 P.M. It just so happens it's also election day in a banana republic where someone has been shot at a polling place, militarized government agents have automatic weapons drawn and . . . and . . . hold on a sec: It's not a banana republic, it's Azusa, where a middle school is on lockdown, triage has been set up blocks away and cops in battle gear are pouring in because one or more people were apparently shot at the polling station on campus. It's unclear who was wounded, but it's believed to be multiple victims and suspects remain on the loose. Welcome to the jungle, America! (Matt C)
2:52 P.M. Never underestimate Hugh Hewitt's disingenuous spin/lie motor about politics. OC's national radio right-wing mouthpiece looks exhausted during an MSNBC appearance, but somehow manages to utter without a hint of sincerity that Donald Trump “could still win.” (RSM)
2:46 P.M. And the award for the Most Pathetic Hypocrite in the 2016 local elections goes to a familiar CHAVALA rat face: Matt Cunningham, a long-disgraced blogger who's still at it for the corporate interests that run (and are ruining) my hometown of Anaheim. They're running scared this election, the first with district elections, so Matty published yesterday afternoon a slimer that his masters no doubt thought would torpedo their main antagonist: Anaheim District 3 city council candidate (and 2012 OC Scariest People) Jose F. Moreno. He was one of the plaintiffs that sued Anaheim into instituting district elections, a proud democratic socialist, and Mexican—everything Matty's daddy, Curt Pringle, loathes.
Matty's supposed scoop? Earlier this year, Moreno wrote to a judge requesting leniency in sentencing for his wife-beating brother-in-law. At the end of the story, Matty threw in a press release in which Moreno's wife's sister—the spousal-abuse victim—said she had just heard about Moreno's candidacy and that she was “fearing for her safety,” along with police reports, letters, and the like substantiating her charges.
Only problem? The reveal was all a carefully orchestrated farce. The person that put out the press release works for Communications LAB, run by Rancho Santiago Community College District trustee Arianna Barrios, who just happens to be senior policy aide to councilwoman Kris Murray, a longtime opponent of Moreno and prime Pringle puppet. Barrios is listed as an endorser of Anaheim councilmember Jordan Brandman, Moreno's main opponent. Her Communications LAB accepted $1,800 from Brandman earlier this year for “website/email services” on his laughable congressional campaign. Communications LAB also lists as one of its clients the Orange County Taxpayer's Association, which just so happened to put out anti-Moreno mailers this election cycle, and Barrios' firm has has previously done work for the Disneyland Resort, which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Anaheim's election funding mailers that have savaged Moreno.
But the biggest laugher about this latest anti-Moreno effort? Matty (and his ever-loyal seal, ostensible liberal blogger Dan Chmielewski, who also wrote about the issue, even writing “As I was drafting this, AnaheimBlog beat me to the story”—SURE they did…) went on and on about the horror of Moreno's sins, with Matty asking “Why would Moreno request no jail time at all for someone with a history of violent, alcoholic domestic abuse?” Meanwhile, Dan wrote “I need a shower after reading the reports of abuse and the letter.”
Pots, meet kettles. Matty remains despised among survivors of the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal because he stood by John Urell, a man who covered up for the Diocese of Orange's pedophile priests for decades. Back in his OC Blog days, Matty openly asked why people weren't leaving Urell alone, and Matty's love for his priest was such that he ended up publishing an unredacted deposition that put out the names of survivors for the world to see, running the the shelter of Wylie Aiken's son when he realized his fuckup. Somehow, this has never bothered Dan one bit—far from it, the two openly call each other friends and have previously worked on campaigns against a common Latino enemy.
Why wasn't Matty and Dan asking for jail time for Urell back then? Because they're sniveling CHAVALAS. And also completely ineffectual: if Moreno loses his race, it won't be because of Matty and Dan's posts: they've gone nowhere on social media. (GA)
2:39 P.M. KFI's Gary and Shannon discuss Donald Trump's incompetence reading simple sentences from a teleprompter and anticipate he'll decide to “screw it” during an election-closing speech. We agree! Please, Donald, we beg you: spew the angriest, ego-driven rant of your life tonight. And don't forget to repeatedly refer to yourself in the third person! (RSM)
2:28 P.M. I'm with my best friend Amy at Blackmarket Bakery in SanTana. “Hey, there's a taco party at the Latino Health Access today—all you gotta do is have your 'I Voted' sticker and you get free tacos,” I say. “Taco party, eh?” Amy says. “Sounds like a lesbian gathering.” Amy's a Latinx queer woman, so she knows a thing or two about tacos. (AM)
2:25 P.M. I picked up a couple in their mid-40s at a hotel bar in Irvine who voted absentee. “Did you feel relieved voting so much earlier and getting it over with?” I asked. “Honestly, no,” they respond. “We were both scared shitless but hey, at least we both got to travel on this trip together. If America is going into the crapper tonight, I can't think of a better place to be flushed.” (NJ)
2:17 P.M. An elderly couple stops me outside of Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School to ask where the polling place is. I point to the line which has spilled out the door. The man fumbles for his wallet as we approach the line. “You don't need ID,” I say in Spanish. “Really?” he asks. “This isn't Texas,” I explain. “We don't have racist voter ID laws in California.” (DL)
2:10 P.M. A young girl walks into the Super Clinik cannabis dispensary wearing a black shirt that says “Trump,” “Clinton,” and “Bourbon,” with boxes next to each name. There is a check mark in the box next to Bourbon. “Fuck the options for candidates, dude,” she says. “I honestly don't even want to vote. And fuck Prop. 64, too.” (Mary C)
2:00 P.M. On the corner of La Habra Boulevard and Walnut Street in La Habra lies a crowded strip mall with a Boost Mobile as a polling place. Next door is a laundry mat with two Latinx immigrants who tell me they cannot vote “yet” but their family members are out voting today. One mother, originally from Nayarit, who has resided in La Habra for 20 years, says she's a legal U.S. resident, but cannot vote until she becomes a U.S. citizen. So, her 21-year-old son has agreed to vote as her voice instead. She's hoping for Hillary Clinton to win. (DD)
1:51 P.M. According to UCI Law/PoliSci Professor Rich Hasen's “sLatest” (latest Slate election report), Trump's tossed Nevada lawsuit “is a fitting end to a hateful campaign.” But, Hasen warns, the Trump campaign may still use it as ammo to nullify results if Clinton wins Nevada.” (Matt C)
1:48 P.M. Capone, the security guard outside of the Reserve OC, explains that today's been a busy day at the dispensary because people are stressed out about the possibility of Donald Trump becoming president. Capone, who is wearing dark sunglasses, is intimidating and definitely armed. He doesn't crack a smile as he tells me that he voted at 6 a.m. against Trump and for Prop. 64. “For America,” he says, slapping me a high-five. (Mary C)
1:46 P.M. Two guys parked in front of a 7-11 on Bristol and Red Hill are talking about election-related porn. No, not the proposed ban on condoms but what kind of presidential spoof porn will be produced depending on who is elected president. “That's the only reason I would want Trump to win,” one guy says. “Melania could star in that shit herself! And Ivanka and Papa Trump would have a scene . . . It's fucked up but I'd fap to that!” (NJ)
1:45 P.M.: Two girls are lost and trying to figure out where their polling site, the CSUF Golleher alumni house, is located. I point them the way and ask them what they think of the election.
“Honestly, I kinda feel like we're fucked either way,” the blonde girl says. “At least Clinton knows what she's doing. Donald Trump doesn't really have a clue.”
“That's pretty much what I'm leaning towards as well,” the girl with the bright red hair agrees. “At least she has experience and isn't going to cause WW3.”
It's their first time voting. (CR)
1:43 P.M. My best friend, who lives across the country, posts a Facebook status musing over the fact that despite all the money MTV puts into their Rock the Vote campaigns, what really mobilizes young people to vote is selfie culture. And it's true. At the time I write this, I've counted over 50 “I Voted” selfies between Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. We may be the most vain generation, but at least we get shit done. (AM)
1:31 P.M. The first of many “Fuck Donald Trump” tags I'll see today, probably. Spotted in downtown SanTana. (Aimee Murillo)
1:10 P.M. There are taco trucks on the corner of Lambert Road and Palm Street in front of the polling place at Sonora High School in La Habra. Six of them, to be exact. The polling place is inside a classroom and is pretty much empty except for two students who are voting. After chatting to a young lady managing a taco truck with her familia, I discover that she is shocked to hear that just a mile down Lambert in Brea, Trump voters are out and about. “Really?” she gasps with wide eyes. (DC)
12:49 P.M. Only one freeway overpass has political signs on it from Beach Cities north to the Euclid exit on the 405: Oh! Soooooo Parkway had two, smallish hand-painted in multiple colors saying “VOTE TRUMP” and “DUMP THE SWAMP.” (LB)
12:44 P.M.: Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman asks Rolling Stone investigative reporter Greg Palast about hacking—not of Hillary Clinton's emails but voting machines. Palast claims audit functions have inexplicably been turned off on electronic voting machines around the nation “You have to wonder, Amy, why in the world would you turn off this valuable security feature, especially with the big bag Russians supposedly hacking our machines?” Palast pauses a beat. “Maybe it's not the Russians hacking our machines.” (Matt C)
12:30 P.M. On the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Segerstrom Way in SanTana, there is a man dancing with a sign that says “$10 Gram Top Shelf Reserve.” His name is Carlos and he's wearing a hat with a green fan leaf on it and the letters NG, which stand for New Generation—a newer dispensary that opened in September. His sign points into a small parking lot with industrial buildings. “Are you for or against Prop. 64?” I ask Carlos. “It's going to do a lot of good, I think,” he says. “As long as we are able to to this legally then it's all good, man.” (Mary Carreon)
12:21 P.M. Time was when the OC Weekly editor would get invited to speak every presidential election day at a luncheon hosted by GOP and Democratic bigwigs alike. Those days are long gone, so fuck both parties. Instead, my election day tradition is to eat lunch at Alebrije's, the legendary pink taco truck on the corner of Main and Cubbon in SanTana. And in this year of #tacotrucksoneverycorner, getting dos de cecina is my patriotic duty.
As usual, I get to talking with owner Albert Hernandez, an immigrant from Guanajuato who now has a lonchera empire. He wants to open a restaurant, but is having trouble finding workers. “20 years ago, when there was unemployment, everyone worked hard,” he says in Spanish. “But now, there's little unemployment. No one wants to work hard. I think we should let more immigrants in, to have competition. And if you can't match up in competition? That's on you, not your rival.
He's voting Hillary. (GA)
12:15 P.M. “Did you vote already?” Pierre the barber asks me. I take a seat at A-Unique, a black barbershop in Anaheim. “Yeah, and there was actually a line this time,” I say. “That's because don't nobody want Trump's ass to win!”
Pierre starts working on my taper. A big, framed portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rests to my right. “How long you think before we have a black president again?” I ask. “A long, long time,” he says. “First it's going to be one of the Mexican homies that gets in, then we're probably going to have a bunch of white presidents again for a minute.”
The talk switches to the Lakers before coming back to the election. “Obama was empowering,” Pierre continues. “Maybe Michelle will run one of these years,” I add. “She's not a gangster like Hillary though!”
“Pierre nods in agreement. “Especially when it comes to that money!” (GSR)
11:43 A.M. Because low-income and minority Americans are significantly more likely to wait in hours-long lines and have fewer polling locations, resources and volunteers, Boost Mobile stores are serving as polling places “in communities where voting inequality problems are most prevalent.” Problem sites were located in three SoCal counties: Riverside, San Diego and . . . drum roll . . . Orange! Our poll locations meant to combat this are Jet Wireless, 422 W. La Habra Blvd., La Habra, and Bixcom/MS Telecom, 3710 Westminster Ave, Santa Ana. (Matt C)
11:31 A.M.: At a Little Saigon pastry shop, a 12-year-old Vietnamese-American boy wearing shorts and a football jersey is quietly eating until he hears someone say “Trump.” The name triggers an immediate joyful response. “I'm for Trump,” he says to nobody in particular. “Clinton wants to give illegals benefits for doing nothing.” Unsuccessfully scanning the room for a reaction, he catches my eye. “Your team sucks,” he adds, noticing my San Diego Chargers cap. (RSM)
11:20 A.M. OC Weekly's Twitter account receives a tip about someone who had “been waiting 25 min in line to vote in OC. Trump voters are sitting in the booths so people will leave b4 voting.” Within 15 minutes, I arrive at the Living Hope Community Church in Brea to find 20 people in line. It takes me 15 minutes to reach the table where volunteers are signing people in. During my wait, a middle aged woman leaves after seeing the line, saying that she is on her lunch break and will come back later. The polling place's coordinator, Donna, denies any suspicious behavior. By the time I leave, half of the line has emptied. Although I pick up a pro-Trump vibe, this alleged case of voter suspicion appears to be a false alarm. (Denise de la Cruz)
11:16 A.M. This Dana Point polling place has the longest line I've seen since the new electronic machines were introduced and no one could work them. The poll worker says it's been like this since they opened the doors. Lots of biddies were wearing blue pants and white shirts: Is it a clue or coincidence? Most political yard signs around are about the City Council seats, so maybe that's what brought people out. The TV in the adjacent room is turned off and has been ever since I made them change the station from Fox News to anything else during the hanging chad era. It's the first election since my mother passed away, so it makes me queasy not having an absentee ballot to hand in. I'm saving my sticker to plant on the ship's bell attached to her house that she'd ring when the White House was blue. (Lisa Black)
10:57 A.M. At Paul's Cocktails, a girl named Kristin comes up to Weekly intern Cynthia and me and says her boyfriend thinks I'm a lesbian. “Why, because I'm wearing a suit and tie?” I ask. “Well, yeah.” I touch Cynthia's leg. “He probably thinks we're together,” I say. “So women who wear pant suits are gay? Do you think Hillary Clinton's a lesbian?” I ask. “I mean if you let Bill get away with that much,” her boyfriend answers, “she's been licking some clam. FBI clam.” On that note, Cynthia and I are going for sushi. (TH)
10:56 A.M. California Proposition 60, which would mandate the use of condoms in pornographic films, fascinates Roger Marsh, a Christian conservative talk show host at K-BRITE's “The Bottom Line,” because it's “an exercise in overregulation” by government bureaucrats. But, winning this morning's NIMBY award, Marsh ultimately decided to back the initiative because he thinks its passage will drive our state's pornographers “to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City.” Quite neighborly of him, don't you think? (RSM)
10:30 A.M. An elderly woman climbs into my cab after visiting a dialysis center in Laguna Woods. She's walking with a huge wooden walking stick, which she bought in her native Alaska. At age 76, it's the first time she hasn't voted in a presidential election. “Whichever one gets in there, I say we're fucked,” she tells me. “Luckily, I live in Alaska where we are still free.” (NJ)
10:23 A.M. Just saw a SanTana squad car drive past me, which reminded me of a weird anecdote at this past Saturday's Día de los Muertos celebration in downtown SanTana. Myself and Weekly music editor Nate Jackson were at our booth handing out copies of the infernal rag, when along waddled by two SanTana cops—one huge, the other whatever. I forgot what they were first talking about, but then they started railing about Hillary Clinton.
“If I did what she did with those emails, I'd be in prison!” the smaller one said. I almost wanted to reply, “If I did what your fellow SanTana cops did and lift edibles from from a dispensary, I'd be in prison“—but I didn't want to get tased in front of children, you know?
I replied that, nevertheless, Trump was far worse than Clinton. “Nah, it'll all be the same whoever wins,” said the bigger cop, with the smaller one agreeing like Samuel L. Jackson's character in Django Unchained. I then looked at his name plate.
“Man, with your last name, and your prieto skin,” I cracked, “you're going to be the first person on Trump's deportation train!”
The two officers didn't laugh. (GA)
10:06 A.M. Daniel Henniger, an editorial writer at the Wall Street Journal, makes a bold prediction for a Fox News audience that's been told all morning that the presidential election is essentially a toss-up. “I think Trump might just pull this off,” says Henniger, who claims there is widespread fatigue with Democrats occupying the White House since 2009. (RSM)
9:45 A.M. “Today I'm promoting Jordan Brandman!” says Gilbert Quiroa. The 27-year-old from Sun Valley twirls a sign for the Anaheim councilman on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Broadway in front of Carl's Jr. “Who's paying yout to do this?” I ask. Quiroa points to the back of his shirt, which reads Arrow Sign Spinners. “What about Disney? I follow up. “I don't know anything about that,” Quiroa says.
I point out that the sleek sign he holds is paid for by Moving Orange County Forward, a PAC for Mouse money. “I'm here just for three hours and then I have another shift later for four hours,” Quiroa says. All over Anaheim, professional sign twirlers are boosting Disney candidates like Brandman, Steven Chavez Lodge, Lucille Kring and Steve Faessel. Disney's grip on City Hall, in other words, is spinning out of control. (GSR)
9:36 A.M. Rich Hasen, the UCI Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science, believes claims of voter intimidation in Philadelphia “are being banked now for possible use later” by Trump should he barely lose Pennsylvania. And the Donald's got dastardly villains helping him. Hasen is posting today on Slate's Election Day Live blog. (Matt Coker)
9:35 A.M. About 10 firefighters are climbing in and out of engines and trucks around the back of the Fullerton Fire Station #1 between Lemon and Raymond, which is serving as a polling station this year. The line is about 20 people deep, but no one seems to mind as it gives voters additional time to ponder the most important question of the day: Why are firefighters so hot? (JB)
9:08 A.M. The first of what Snopes Managing Editor Brooke Binkowski (a former Orange County reporter for KNX and former San Clemente resident) promises will be a “shit-show” of FALSE voter fraud stories was just debunked on the outlet's website. (Joel Beers).
9:06 A.M. Rush Limbaugh begins his broadcast by claiming across-the-board, bipartisan polls showing a Hillary Clinton national victory today are imaginary. “Nobody knows jack about what's going to happen,” Limbaugh announces. “There's fear and anticipation on both sides.” (RSM)
8:49 A.M. At Grace Community Church in Lake Forest, a man twice my age gets out of his brand new BMW and says to me: “Do I need my ID, like a drivers license, to vote?” (Angelena Grady)
8:46 A.M. Uh-oh, Hugh: Early projections show Hillary Clinton leading in these five battleground states: Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Trump is ahead in Pennsylvania. This comes from numbers compiled by Slate and VoteCastr, which publishes real-time projections based on how many people cast votes in select districts. Of course, it is very early. Your typical vote suppressor does not even wake up until 10 a.m. (Matt Coker)
8:29 A.M. On a website for K-BRITE, the SoCal Christian radio station with the motto “Serving God and country,” a listener named Rudolph declares in a comment that Barack Obama's “job is to destroy this country, and urges Americans to stay “award” for the president's demonic inclinations during his final days in office. In a follow-up remark, Rudolph corrects the word to “aware” and blames, yep, the devil for causing the typo. (RSM)
8:17 A.M. Reports of poll booth problems already coming in. In West Fullerton, an entire station's voting machines were down, leaving people to having to vote via provisional ballot. And in central Santa Ana, three machines were down, and problems were arising as poll booth workers – who look like miners from Bonanza – couldn't understand the Hispanic last names of many voters. Did we say “many”? We meant ALL, save for the token gabacho husband of one mexicana. (GA)
8:15 A.M. At Paul's Cocktails, my mom comes to visit me after dropping my brother off at school. She has a virgin Bloody Mary and helps me tie my Bill Clinton tie. (TH)
7:56 A.M. At Paul's Cocktails, bartender Lisa switches from morning news to music. “I'm over it already,” she says. (TH)
7:43 A.M. Inside a busy but hushed Westminster polling place operated by an all Vietnamese American staff, “Dave”—an overly tanned 6-foot-4 white dude wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, jeans, cowboy boots, flannel shirt and a massive silver belt buckle like he won some half-ass rodeo 25 years ago—enters and make an obnoxious declaration. “Okay, no more voter fraud here,” he said before voting. “This election is too important.” (RSM)
7 A.M. Cal State Fullerton professor Chandrasekhar Putcha predicts that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will become the next U.S. president, using an engineering mathematical model he created. Putcha places Clinton with 52.78 percent of the popular vote and 284 electoral votes, with Republican candidate Donald Trump gaining 42.71 percent and 254 electoral votes. (Cynthia Rebolledo)
6:30 A.M. Taylor “Hellcat” Hamby reporting for duty from Paul's Cocktails at the Orange Circle. Good Day LA is playing on the tube. Two other patrons in the bar: one white-haired vet with a pitcher and a shot at the bar, and a dude with a flannel in the corner drinking coffee. Pink-haired bartender Lisa says she's already over the election and pours me a hot coffee. (TH)
4:37 A.M. Donald Trump Jr., the billionaire GOP candidate’s son, claims on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” that polls forecasting a Hillary Clinton victory must be wrong because people of color have recently approached him at gas stations in several states and declared their enthusiastic support for his father’s candidacy. (RSM)
9:45 A.M. “Today I'm promoting Jordan Brandman!” says Gilbert Quiroa. The 27-year-old from Sun Valley twirls a sign for the Anaheim councilman on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Broadway in front of Carl's Jr. “Who's paying yout to do this?” I ask. Quiroa points to the back of his shirt, which reads Arrow Sign Spinners. “What about Disney? I follow up. “I don't know anything about that,” Quiroa says.
I point out that the sleek sign he holds is paid for by Moving Orange County Forward, a PAC for Mouse money. “I'm here just for three hours and then I have another shift later for four hours,” Quiroa says. All over Anaheim, professional sign twirlers are boosting Disney candidates like Brandman, Steven Chavez Lodge, Lucille Kring and Steve Faessel. Disney's grip on City Hall, in other words, is spinning out of control. (GSR)
9:36 A.M. Rich Hasen, the UCI Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science, believes claims of voter intimidation in Philadelphia “are being banked now for possible use later” by Trump should he barely lose Pennsylvania. And the Donald's got dastardly villains helping him. Hasen is posting today on Slate's Election Day Live blog. (Matt Coker)
9:35 A.M. About 10 firefighters are climbing in and out of engines and trucks around the back of the Fullerton Fire Station #1 between Lemon and Raymond, which is serving as a polling station this year. The line is about 20 people deep, but no one seems to mind as it gives voters additional time to ponder the most important question of the day: Why are firefighters so hot? (JB)
9:15 A.M. In my cab, I pick up a Lake Forest retiree who is voting for Trump. “Personally, I don't think we need any more Democrats in the White House,” he says. No surprise: his second house, where he's traveling to, is in Arizona. He supports Trump because “a lot of people I talk to here are for Trump and most of my neighbors are for Trump so . . . so I dunno. Trump.” (NJ)
9:08 A.M. The first of what Snopes Managing Editor Brooke Binkowski (a former Orange County reporter for KNX and former San Clemente resident) promises will be a “shit-show” of FALSE voter fraud stories was just debunked on the outlet's website. (Joel Beers).
9:06 A.M. Rush Limbaugh begins his broadcast by claiming across-the-board, bipartisan polls showing a Hillary Clinton national victory today are imaginary. “Nobody knows jack about what's going to happen,” Limbaugh announces. “There's fear and anticipation on both sides.” (RSM)
8:49 A.M. At Grace Community Church in Lake Forest, a man twice my age gets out of his brand new BMW and says to me: “Do I need my ID, like a drivers license, to vote?” (Angelena Grady)
8:46 A.M. Uh-oh, Hugh: Early projections show Hillary Clinton leading in these five battleground states: Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Trump is ahead in Pennsylvania. This comes from numbers compiled by Slate and VoteCastr, which publishes real-time projections based on how many people cast votes in select districts. Of course, it is very early. Your typical vote suppressor does not even wake up until 10 a.m. (Matt Coker)
8:29 A.M.: On a website for K-BRITE, the SoCal Christian radio station with the motto “Serving God and country,” a listener named Rudolph declares in a comment that Barack Obama's “job is to destroy this country, and urges Americans to stay “award” for the president's demonic inclinations during his final days in office. In a follow-up remark, Rudolph corrects the word to “aware” and blames, yep, the devil for causing the typo. (RSM)
8:17 A.M.: Reports of poll booth problems already coming in. In West Fullerton, an entire station's voting machines were down, leaving people to having to vote via provisional ballot. And in central Santa Ana, three machines were down, and problems were arising as poll booth workers – who look like miners from Bonanza – couldn't understand the Hispanic last names of many voters. Did we say “many”? We meant ALL, save for the token gabacho husband of one mexicana. (GA)
8:15 A.M. At Paul's Cocktails, my mom comes to visit me after dropping my brother off at school. She has a virgin Bloody Mary and helps me tie my Bill Clinton tie. (TH)
8:10 A.M. Someone has left money at the Filling Station in Orange with instructions to pay down the bill of the next customer to walk in wearing an “I Voted” sticker. Cast vote; receive bacon. (Dave Lieberman)
7:56 A.M. At Paul's Cocktails, bartender Lisa switches from morning news to music. “I'm over it already,” she says. (TH)
7:43 A.M. Inside a busy but hushed Westminster polling place operated by an all Vietnamese American staff, “Dave”—an overly tanned 6-foot-4 white dude wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, jeans, cowboy boots, flannel shirt and a massive silver belt buckle like he won some half-ass rodeo 25 years ago—enters and make an obnoxious declaration. “Okay, no more voter fraud here,” he said before voting. “This election is too important.” (RSM)
7:05 A.M. Today, I convinced a local taxi company to let me drive one of their cabs for a few hours and talk to people throughout OC about how they're voting. My first client, a tall, stately woman in a pant suit greets me at the lobby of her hotel off the 405 freeway in Fountain Valley. She's on her way to LAX to fly to Texas for a business trip. She tells me she's an engineer and mother of two college-age girls. “Well, guess I can tell you the truth: I didn't vote,” she says after I ask. “But I made both of my daughters and my husband promise they would.” She feels terrible for not voting, but this is her eighth flight in as many days. (Nate Jackson)
7 A.M. Cal State Fullerton professor Chandrasekhar Putcha predicts that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will become the next U.S. president, using an engineering mathematical model he created. Putcha places Clinton with 52.78 percent of the popular vote and 284 electoral votes, with Republican candidate Donald Trump gaining 42.71 percent and 254 electoral votes. (Cynthia Rebolledo)
6:30 A.M. Taylor “Hellcat” Hamby reporting for duty from Paul's Cocktails at the Orange Circle. Good Day LA is playing on the tube. Two other patrons in the bar: one white-haired vet with a pitcher and a shot at the bar, and a dude with a flannel in the corner drinking coffee. Pink-haired bartender Lisa says she's already over the election and pours me a hot coffee. (TH)
4:37 A.M. Donald Trump Jr., the billionaire GOP candidate’s son, claims on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” that polls forecasting a Hillary Clinton victory must be wrong because people of color have recently approached him at gas stations in several states and declared their enthusiastic support for his father’s candidacy. (RSM)
NOV. 8, 3:03 A.M.: From some East Coast perch, Hugh Hewitt—Orange County’s reigning loyal GOP mouthpiece on national radio—triumphantly claims, “Donald Trump can win!” Hewitt then added, “I got him to 270 [electoral college votes] without [winning] Florida. The guess provides internal satisfaction, prompting a prediction: “[The race is] going to be over early.” He then hints that a secret conspiracy against wealthy, conservative, white males is in play. “The exit polls are dirty,” he declares, adopting excuses in advance if his prognostications are, as usual, wrong. But Hewitt is nothing if not a fact-bending cheerleader. “I’m pretty excited!” he utters. “Get out there and vote . . . Get out! . . . If we make this close, they can’t cheat!” (R. Scott Moxley)
NOV. 7, 10:39 P.M. “FUCK TRUMP!” the millennial tells me at the Quill Lounge in SanTana. “Fucking sack of shit is ruining America, that Cheetos dick.”
“So you're going to vote tomorrow, right?” I ask.
“Of course. You can vote anywhere in California, right?”
“Well, you can do it absentee, or early at the Registrar of Voters, but you're better off just voting where you're assigned.”
“And where's that?”
“Um, you're registered to vote for this election, right?”
“Yeah, in Santa Clarita.”
“Well, you're going to have to vote in L.A. County tomorrow.”
“But I'm going to be in OC all day.”
“Sorry, man. You can get a provisional ballot in any LA County voting place, but not in Orange County.”
Silence.
“You WILL vote tomorrow, right?”
Silence. (GA)
NOV. 7, 9:13 P.M. Stopped by El Toro Bravo in Costa Mexico for a pound of carnitas to go. “It's kind of slow,” the young Mexican man running the register said. “I know! There's usually a line here,” I said. “I just came from the grocery store—there was no one there. Maybe everyone is scared of tomorrow. They all want to stay home.”
The young man laughs. “I already cast my vote,” he says, turning to the older line chef, Ulvado. He pats Ulvado on the back. “Don't worry buddy, you're going to be fine.” (Taylor Hamby).
NOV. 7, 7:10 P.M. Neighbors spotted Anaheim city council candidate Steven Chavez Lodge's truck around 6:15 p.m. this evening at Azul Apartment Homes, where he's renting an apartment to run in District One. Curious timing, given my story this morning on how Lodge sightings at his carpetbagging crib are rarer than that of mythical chupacabras out in the wild!
Seems as if the dirty ex-cop wanted to do some last minute campaigning, leaving fliers on top of mailboxes at the complex. According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, Lodge registered to vote at the Azul apartment address on April 1, 2016 (April Fools!) In all that time, he still can't bring himself to talk to his own neighbors door-to-door.
Lodge didn't stick around too long this evening, leaving by 6:35 p.m. I'll betcha a potato taco from El Patio that he'll be gone for good from Azul this week if he loses tomorrow. Now, who wants to take that bet? (Gabriel San Roman)
NOV. 7, 4:45 P.M. Finally checked that voicemail that's been on my phone all day—it's my doctor. OH SHIT. Do I have brain cancer after all? That would explain a lot…anyways, he's a longtime Republican—like talking-shit-on-Larry-Agran-when-he-welcomed-the-Nicaraguan-baseball-team-to-Irvine longtime Republican—who quit the GOP in disgust earlier this year over Donald Trump and reregistered as a Democrat (he's writing in his dog for president).
“Hey, man,” Doc said. “I just left the Orange County Registrar of Voters because I have to go out of state on short notice, and it is PACKED. And I can tell you, it's packed with Latinos. I was the only white guy in there, so that certainly bodes well. They were all lined up to vote absentee. I swear, dude, it was PACKED.”
That's been the story all weekend—Latinos in Nevada, North Carolina, and Florida coming out early in record numbers. Trump losing because of Mexicans would be sweet justice—but let's not count our tacos just yet…(Gustavo Arellano)
