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California Kicks Off Its First Nonpartisan Primary Election

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Southland residents will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their votes in California's primary election.

Voters will be choosing their picks for presidential and congressional candidates. They will select the top Democratic and Republican candidates - presumably President Obama and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney - to face off in the November election.

Tuesday's process only applies to the primary election, but it will be the first time voters will be able to cast ballots for candidates regardless of their party affiliation.

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Also on the ballot will also be Proposition 28, which would give term limits for state legislators, and Proposition 29, which would add a $1 cigarette tax to fund cancer research — a tax that one voter told KNX 1070's John Brooks he can hardly afford.

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"$7.50 for one pack, that depends what brand you like," he said. "You'll go broke."

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But with a lack of any real contested presidential race on the ballot and only two propositions, Mark DiCamillo, the director of the California Field Poll, told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO today's voter turnout will likely set a record for the lowest ever recorded in the modern era.

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"Really, we're looking at about two-thirds the number of voters we saw four years ago, about 6 million," said DiCamillo. "Four years ago we had 9 million, so it's going to be a pretty low turnout."

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

To find your polling location, visit the Los Angeles County Registrar's Web site.

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