The Missing 100,000

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The final voter registration and turnout figures for the May primary are now posted on the Oregon Elections Division web site, and they make interesting - if depressing - reading for political junkies.

In many ways, the '06 primary can be compared with the 2002 primary. Both non-presidential years featured heated gubernatorial contests in the Republican and Democratic primaries.

However, even though there are now 126,000 more registered voters than four years ago, 100,131 fewer Oregonians voted in the 2006 primary than in 2002.

Overall turnout among registered voters was 38.6 percent this year, versus 46.7 percent in 2002. Among those elible to register to vote, turnout dipped from 33.7 percent in 2002 to 28.8 percent this year.

The biggest percentage declines in turnout came among non-affiliated and minor-party voters. That's no surprise: they had less at stake in the primary election and independents tend to have the shakiest allegiance toward voting. But of those 100,000 missing voters, nearly 83,000 were either Democrats or Republicans.

All told, Republicans had a slightly higher decline in voting, but they still turned out in slightly larger percentages than the Ds. Bottom line: Voters across the board are tuning out.

-Jeff Mapes