Voters patiently lined up outside the Clovis Civic Center on Tuesday afternoon, waiting their turn to cast their ballot.

But in an election marked by a painfully thin turnout — possibly as few as 14% of the state’s eligible voters may have cast ballots for Tuesday’s primary — that line was one of the few across the Fresno-Clovis region.

Skyla Wheeler said she came to the Clovis center to vote in person, not because of any of the ballot races or ballot measure, but because she wanted to make sure her vote was counted.

In the last election, “they said there was a problem with my signature” on a drop-off ballot, she said. “So I came in person to get my voted counted.”

What Brought Them to Vote Center

A number of the residents interviewed by GV Wire at voting centers around Fresno and Clovis said there was no burning issue that brought them out to cast their ballots.

“Civic duty,” Jean Zurita said after voting at the Betty Rodriguez Regional Library on Cedar Avenue in east-central Fresno. “My father always told me, if you don’t vote, you don’t have a right to complain. It’s important — it’s our voice.”

Some said they came out for specific races, such as the gubernatorial primary that attracted both friends and foes of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom “has failed us,” Lori Pastre said after voting at the Woodward Park Regional Library in northeast Fresno. “He’s running the state into the ground.”

Lynn Danell, who also voted at Woodward, said she’s happy with the job Newsom has been doing and wants to see him win re-election.

Jordan Ott said the Congressional District 22 race was why he came to a vote center at Buchanan High School in northwest Clovis.

“My friend Lourin Hubbard is in the runoff,” Ott said.

Measure Z Fans, Foe

Measure Z, which would renew the 1/10 of a cent sales tax to support the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, was attracting support from Republicans and Democrats alike, with a few exceptions.

Dirk Paloutzian, who voted at the Woodward Library, said he’s generally anti-tax, “but I thought Measure Z was important. Like my friends say, it’ll be for your grandkids.”

Over at the Clovis Civic Center, Diane Martin said she cast her ballot to get “half the people” out of office and voted no on Measure Z.

“They tax us to death,” she said.