Why was voter turnout down compared to 2004?
| By Doug - Nov 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm EST |
It seems like this story got sucked up by a black hole in the euphoria of Obama's landslide victory:
Experts confounded: Turnout higher in Ohio in 2004
Friday, November 7, 2008 3:20 AM
By Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Despite a record number of registered voters this year, intense interest in the presidential election and the historic outcome, Ohio's voter turnout was lower Tuesday than in 2004, unofficial statistics show.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is reporting 67 percent turnout, compared with 72 percent in 2004. She had been predicting 80 percent turnout this time.
The percentage could increase as provisional ballots, overseas ballots and other outstanding votes are included during the official canvass in the coming weeks.
But overall turnout still is expected to be lower than in 2004, leaving experts at a loss to explain it -- especially because the number of registered voters increased by 319,000 from four years ago.
"That's rather puzzling, given the activity level," said Paul Beck, a political-science professor at Ohio State University.
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/07/copy/turnout.ART_ART_11-07-08_A1_4GBQO6M.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
I skimmed the latest article by Dr. Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman and I didn't see where they directly confronted why turnout was down this year:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2008/3294
To me, it just doesn't add up why turnout would be lower considering all the new voter registrations. Did an non-existent army of Bushies vote in 2004 under former SOS Ken Blackwell's watchful eye?
Experts confounded: Turnout higher in Ohio in 2004
Friday, November 7, 2008 3:20 AM
By Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Despite a record number of registered voters this year, intense interest in the presidential election and the historic outcome, Ohio's voter turnout was lower Tuesday than in 2004, unofficial statistics show.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is reporting 67 percent turnout, compared with 72 percent in 2004. She had been predicting 80 percent turnout this time.
The percentage could increase as provisional ballots, overseas ballots and other outstanding votes are included during the official canvass in the coming weeks.
But overall turnout still is expected to be lower than in 2004, leaving experts at a loss to explain it -- especially because the number of registered voters increased by 319,000 from four years ago.
"That's rather puzzling, given the activity level," said Paul Beck, a political-science professor at Ohio State University.
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/07/copy/turnout.ART_ART_11-07-08_A1_4GBQO6M.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
I skimmed the latest article by Dr. Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman and I didn't see where they directly confronted why turnout was down this year:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2008/3294
To me, it just doesn't add up why turnout would be lower considering all the new voter registrations. Did an non-existent army of Bushies vote in 2004 under former SOS Ken Blackwell's watchful eye?
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The percent turnout numbers are a lot fuzzier and depend on the quality of the voter lists.