Election turnout is above average

    Turnout at Tuesday?s primary election in Washington County was above average for a non-presidential election year. Just under 18 percent of active, registered voters cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primary elections. The turnout for the 2006 primary election was 12 percent, and in 2002 it was just 11 percent. Turnout in presidential election years is typically higher. In 2008, the turnout was 15 percent and in 2004 it was 22 percent. 

    Washington County Auditor Bill Fredrick remarked that general election turnout is also considerably higher than primary election turnout. The general election in 2008 brought out nearly 72 percent of registered voters in the county. The percentage was comparable in 2004 when 71 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Non-presidential election years produce a turnout that is substantially lower. In 2006, 52 percent of voters went to the polls and in 2002 the figure was 53 percent.

    Although not every single ballot has been counted, Fredrick said that it is safe to say that about 2,680 people voted in Washington County on Tuesday. He also said that the participation rates were much higher for Republicans than Democrats, owing to the fact that there was only one contested race on the Democratic side. He reported that fewer than 400 of the 2,680 voters cast a ballot in the Democratic Primary.

For more, see our June 9 print edition.