Voting In Rancho Santa Margarita: Everything You Need To Know

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — The majority of Rancho Santa Margarita voters have already cast their mail-in ballots and returned them, though some will venture out to vote centers on Tuesday to either mark their ballots or hand them in for counting.

Here in Rancho Santa Margarita, voters will select new city councilmembers and school board members.

Orange County voters will also weigh in on races for representation in the U.S. Congress.

In the 45th District, Katie Porter, Democrat, the incumbent, faces Greg Raths, Republican, a councilman in Mission Viejo for the district hit hard by the Silverado Fire in late October. Voters will turn out from Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, and Rancho Santa Margarita to make their voices heard.

Two Orange County districts will vote for a State Senator:

29th District - Republican Ling Ling Chang, incumbent, faces Democrat Josh Newman. This race is a replay of the vote from 2018, where Chang ousted Newman in a recall. The district includes inland Orange County cities of Cypress, parts of Anaheim, Yorba Linda, as well as SGV cities of Chino Hills and Walnut, all recently hit hard by the Blue Ridge Fire.

37th District - longstanding Republican incumbent John Moorlach races against Democrat Dave Min, a law professor at UC Irvine. The district includes Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch, Irvine, Orange, Villa Park, and Anaheim Hills, who suffered wildfire damage in both the late-October Silverado Fire and Blue Ridge Fire to the north.

Orange County Will Vote For State Assembly:

65th District - Sharon Quirk-Silva, Democrat and incumbent, will face Cynthia Thacker, Republican and retired businesswoman. The district covers a large part of north and inland Orange County, including the cities of Stanton, Cypress, Buena Park, Fullerton, and Placentia.

68th District - Incumbent Steven Choi, Republican, faces Melissa Fox, Democrat, Irvine City Councilwoman. The district includes Lake Forest, Tustin, Villa Park, Orange, and Anaheim Hills.

69th District: Democrat Tom Daly, incumbent, faces Jon Paul White, Republican, for the district that encompasses Tustin, Santa Ana, and parts of Anaheim.

72 District: Incumbent Janet Nguyen, Republican, and former state senator and former Garden Grove Councilwoman, faces Deidre Nguyen, current Garden Grove councilwoman and Democrat. They battle for the seat left behind by Republican Tyler Diep, who was outvoted in the March primary. This district includes Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, and Seal Beach.

73rd District: Laguna Niguel's Republican Mayor Laurie Davies will face off with Scott Rhinehart, Democrat, and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. They will battle for the spot left behind by incumbent Bill Brough, Republican, who was outvoted in March's primary. The district includes San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Ladera Ranch, Coto De Caza, Trabuco Canyon, and Mission Viejo.

74th District: Cottie Petrie-Norris, Democrat and incumbent, faces Diane Dixon, a Newport Beach City Councilmember, Republican. This district includes the cities of Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Irvine.

Orange County residents will also vote for School Districts, Special District Contests of Water, Community services, Sanitation, Library District and Geologic Hazard Abatement.

Most Orange County cities will vote for city council members, some by district. Patch will be following city council elections in:

• Dana Point
• Laguna Beach
• Laguna Niguel
• Lake Forest
• Mission Viejo
• Newport Beach
• Rancho Santa Margarita
• San Clemente
• San Juan Capistrano

Orange County has 1.7 million registered voters, according to statistics from the Orange County Registrar of Voters. As of this report, Orange County saw a surge in voter registration in September. According to Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley's office, the county's voters consist of 36 percent democratic voters, 34 percent Republican voters.

The largest unknown in the county is the vast number of voters who claim no party preference. This makes up 24 percent of the vote.

According to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla's office, statewide, there are 21.2 million registered voters, an increase of 800,000 since the primary in March.

Stay tuned to Patch on Election Day for results.
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