No on 8 Dispatches 3,200 Volunteers Across California

Polls in California have been open for more than six hours, and in areas of the state with dense LGBT populations, voters are reportedly waiting three hours in line, and their wait is getting longer.

In Los Angeles, No on 8 is handing out flyers to potential voters urging them to vote No on 8 because it’s “unfair” and “wrong” – and because Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger all oppose the proposition.

Nowhere on the flyer does it say anything about the gay community. It simply tells voters that it is “wrong to eliminate fundamental rights.”

Volunteers for No on 8 are blanketing the city to get the word out. In more traditionally conservative areas including San Diego and the Central Valley, some are the only volunteers in their area on hand to persuade people to vote against the proposition.

In Los Angeles, LA Gay and Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean received word that a school principal was chasing No on 8 volunteers away from poling places and ripping up No on 8 signs. LAPD was called and sent a reminder to poling places that No on 8 is allowed to have volunteers hand out literature so long as they stayed more than 100 feet away from the polls.

In Pico Rivera, no official Yes on 8 people seem to be campaigning near the polls… but a few people are lingering near poling places “damning” gay souls and yelling religious rhetoric at voters (below). According to reports from the scene, about 20-percent of voters are uninformed on Prop. 8.

San Diego, a hotbed of controversy surrounding Proposition 8, continues to be divided over the issue of gay marriage. Qualcomm Stadium was one-third filled over the weekend with people praying that Prop. 8 would pass. Just a mile away, at the same time, some 6,000 people held a candlelight vigil in support of same-sex marriage.

On the outskirts of the city, front lawns are filled with Yes on 8 signs.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, throughout the city, polling places are reporting that Yes on 8 people have come within 100-feet of poling places.

Stephanie Colter, a teacher from Bay Park, told the Tribune Yes on 8 signs were placed outside her poling place at the First Baptist Church in Bay Park -- right next to the signs directing voters inside.

“They're all over the parking lot,” Colter said. “I'm really upset. They shouldn't be a polling place if they want to do that.”

The look is similar just an hour north in Orange County, which is expected to play host to a Yes on 8 victory party should the proposition pass.

Expectedly, in West Hollywood, where the bulk of the No on 8 efforts have taken place, the scene is encouraging.

At LA’s Gay and Lesbian Center, volunteers are crammed into the “war room.” The campaign is dispatching volunteers all over Southern California and fielding reports of any problems from poling places. According to Center Public Affairs Officer Jim Key, more than 3,200 volunteers are on the ground around the state.

Around the city, Yes on 8 signs are nowhere to be seen and though lines are long, people are waiting.

“If it were just the presidency, I’d probably leave,” one voter told Advocate.com. “But because of Prop. 8, I have to stay – it’s too important. My boss can wait.” (Ross von Metzke, The Advocate)