Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Voter turnout remains low in primary
POSTED: 06:50 p.m. HST, Aug 12, 2012
Despite a hotly contested Honolulu mayor’s race and primaries for the Senate and U.S. House, Hawaii appears likely to remain among the states with the lowest voter turnout following Saturday’s primary election.
Final election returns show about 42.3 percent, or 290,653 of the state’s 687,500 registered voters, cast ballots.
The turnout is still higher than in 2008, when voter turnout reached a record low of about 36.9 percent. But this year’s primary is slightly lower than 2010’s 42.8 percent turnout, when a contested Democratic primary for governor and a special election for Honolulu mayor bought 292,992 voters to the polls.
Turnout was highest in Honolulu and Hawaii counties, which both had mayoral contests. About 44.2 percent of registered voters cast ballots on Oahu, while 42.6 percent voted on Hawaii island.
Maui had the lowest turnout at 30.6 percent, followed by Kauai’s 39.2 percent.
The turnout figures also show absentee voting becoming more popular. Slightly less than half of all ballots — about 48.7 percent — were cast before Election Day.
In 2010, 44.4 percent of primary ballots were absentee, up from 2008 when 38.6 percent voted early.
Turnout exceeds 2008 and 2006 primaries
All-mail balloting worth trying to boost voter turnout
Higher voter turnout could cut both ways
Isle voter registration sets record
Voter turnout remains low in Hawaii
Turnout will ride on governor's race
Give alternative balloting a chance
Ballot shortages at 19 precincts delay election results
Voter registration tally up since 2010 primary
Neighborhood boards attract 13,264 voters
Some say "people have died for your right to vote" and that sounds hyper-patriotic, but soldiers have died for centuries, long before democracies were established and soldiers kill and die fighting in armies led by kings and dictators as much as by elected leaders. Do veterans vote more often than non-vets? I don't know.
The state has made registering to vote and the act of voting about as easy as possible, and we do not have laws on the books designed to suppress voting, though local Republicans, following ALEC's national strategy, have introduced the same bills as their national Republican comrades to require RealID for voting--in full knowledge such laws will suppress voting by low-income, minority and elderly voters. But we have not enacted such laws.
I have to conclude non-voters remain unconvinced choosing between politicians will have a positive impact on their lives. So if non-voters have "failed" to do their civic duty, so too have the candidates, the media and those of us who DO vote FAILED to provide a persuasive rationale for participating in elections. The Dems denounce the Republicans and the Republicans denounce the Dems and the cynics say all politicians are crooks and liars. And the non-voter, surveying all this, says "Maybe you're all right," and sees no reason to vote for any of them.
The slogan, "Don't vote, it only encourages them," is as American as apple pie. And, looking at the data, seems to have the backing of a majority of our citizenry.
‘Soul Sessions’ feat. Taimane
