California 'voters' just not into voting?

LA Times:

Sure, it’s just a primary.

And the general election is five months away.

But is that reason enough, in a state that has screamed its political resistance loud and clear, to sleep through an election?

The answer, my fellow Californians, is yes.

Andrew Hernandez, 30, told me he had not voted but he had the materials at home and might still cast a ballot, though he’s registered in Sacramento and not Los Angeles.

I asked who was running for governor.

He thought for a moment, as if the answer might bubble up, but there was no fizz.

“I couldn’t tell you,” he said.

U.S. senator?

Hernandez shook his head.

About a third of the people I spoke to did vote, or intended to, and did know what was what. So my random and unscientific sampling, of about 20 people, matched some expert predictions that roughly 2 out of 3 registered voters would take a voting vacation Tuesday.

Early numbers indicate that in-person voter turnout, not including mail-in ballots, was nearly 13% in Los Angeles County. In Orange County, the turnout was 13%, a figure that includes mail-in ballots reported by Tuesday evening.

Voter apathy is nothing new in California. L.A. has picked a mayor with 4 out of 5 eligible voters blowing off the election. School board elections have drawn even fewer voters.

But this is the era of President Trump and the California resistance. We are in the middle of a national shouting match about the direction of the country, and there are no good excuses for making excuses about not voting.

“No offense,” a 63-year-old man told me, “but I never vote.”

And why is that?

“I don’t believe in the system,” he said, refusing to give me his name.

“I like Trump,” he said, “but let me tell you something: America’s never going to be great again.”

We have a little bit of everything in California, don’t we?

A young woman named Nina said she intended to vote, and thought she had registered, but discovered on election day that she’s not eligible yet.

Could she name a candidate for governor?

No.

For U.S. Senate?

Negative.

“Actually, I was thinking about voting,” said Kia Zomorrodi, 25. “But I didn’t do the research, and it would probably be better if I didn’t vote uninformed.”

He may be right. Zomorrodi couldn’t name any candidates on the ballot. Nor could his friend, who said he was registered but did not intend to vote, saying that California leans too far to the left for him.
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It sounds like the surfer culture more than the resistance.  I am surprised they were not referring to the reporter as "Dude."  It also means that if the Republicans can energize their base they might have a shot at defeating some Democrats in this left wing state.