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Election stresses out local voters, too Sunday Nov 6, 2016 at 12:01 AM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat Mike Alonzo of White City says he'll try to leave the country if Trump wins the election, but on Nov. 8 he's planning a more lighthearted escape. While others will be anxiously glued to their TVs on Tuesday, Alonzo will be watching the dystopian comedy "Idiocracy," about a future in which the average IQ has dropped so much that people give plants sports drinks and elect a professional wrestler known only as "Camacho" as president. It's Alonzo's way of blowing off stream in an acrimonious election that has caused genuine stress for individuals on both sides of the aisle. Ken Fawcett, chairman of Jackson County Republicans, says the contentious election has drawn Trump supporters to the office at a rate of about 30 people a day — "20 or 30 times as many" as Romney supporters in 2012 — all motivated to stop Hillary Clinton, a woman Fawcett describes as "a crook" motivated to win by any means necessary. The contrast "isn't even apples and oranges," Fawcett says. "We're talking about an insider versus an outsider." Rogue River Clinton supporter Linda Hugle has equally vehement reservations against a Trump presidency, calling the Republican nominee a "loose cannon" who "talks like a dictator." She says she checks Fivethirtyeight.com about three times a day for election predictions. "I'm genuinely frightened. Genuinely," Hugle says. "And I think a lot of people are. "What happens the first time (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel insults him?" Hugle says she's channeled her anxiety into action by getting involved in the Clinton campaign, particularly by organizing Josephine County's phone bank reminding people to vote and volunteering Saturdays at the Jackson County Democrats office in Medford to keep the doors open. "I'm not one to sit on the sofa and ring my hands," she says. Alonzo says that even if Clinton wins, he's afraid the results won't appease right-wing extremists fired up about a "rigged" election.  "We can't even have civil elections anymore," Alonzo says. "We've never had anything of this magnitude." Fawcett touches on a similar lack of civility he's seen from those opposing the Republican nominee. His office has replaced "well over 100" yard signs and seen vandalism to "virtually all" of the 30 field signs supporting Trump. Some have been sliced and destroyed, while others were vandalized with spray-painted swastikas. He says some Trump supporters have replaced their signs twice or thrice. Medford police Lt. Kevin Walruff says only one sign has been reported vandalized and 10 reported stolen within city limits over the last four months, but adds such crimes typically don't prompt people to file a police report. "There is a margin of error there," Walruff says. "People just aren't reporting it to the police." David Roadman, chair of the Jackson County Democrats, says thefts of Hillary Clinton yard signs are isolated incidents. Though he doesn't have numbers, he estimates far fewer Clinton signs stolen. "I don't think we're near that," Roadman says. Roadman says his stress level is "running pretty high," in part because of volatility and sparring between the two candidates that "seems like an eternity now," but also because he's working in the final days to encourage voters to vote the party line down the ballot. "In certain areas we have significant undervotes," Roadman says. He says the vitriol of the last few months has given the election an unprecedented "aura" that adds to the stress of overwhelmed volunteers trying to get their message out. "The stress seems to compound itself," Roadman says. Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.