That is true. Los Angeles County as a whole voted against marijuana legalization. More than 60% of Orange County voted against legalizing marijuana. Some heavily Democratic communities like Hacienda Heights, West Covina, Whittier, Santa Ana, East Garden Grove, and West Anaheim, voted against marijuana legalization by a wide margin.
Did pot fail in Southern California as a whole? Apart from Hollywood, Southern California seems a lot less liberal culturally to me than Northern California.
I'm not sure if it failed as a whole. I made a mistake, those counties voted for legalization overall, but were very regionally polarized and competitive. The +60% was Orange County voting to keep capital punishment. Los Angeles County outside the city of Los Angeles voted against legalization. Much of the heavily Democratic San Gabriel Valley voted against marijuana legalization. Santa Ana (one of the most heavily Democratic Orange County cities) voted against marijuana legalization. The coastal regions of Orange County (which are interestingly more Republican than Santa Ana) voted for legalization.
