Election Turnout Starts with Voter Registration
Just over 28,000 people cast a ballot in Licking County’s recent primary, roughly 23 percent of the registered voters. This primary compares best to the one in 2014, which drew 19 percent of the registered voters. By contrast, the presidential primary in March of 2016 drew over 44 percent.
Many of us in the League of Women Voters find the reports of voter turnout in the U.S. dispiriting. According to the Pew Charitable Trust, turnout for national elections lags far behind most of the developed world. Turnout is always greatest for presidential elections compared to those limited to state and local levels even though each person’s vote matters more in these smaller voter pools. Americans have voted in Presidential races at rates from just under 50 percent to just over 58 percent since 1976.
The races and issues appearing on the ballot in local elections clearly affect turnout. Turnouts much higher than the county average this time included Hartford Township (43 percent) and five precincts in Granville Village and Township, together averaging almost 48 percent. Almost 50 percent of the voters in Alexandria turned out to vote on whether to dissolve the village. They rejected the idea of “surrender” overwhelmingly (92 percent); the Village of Alexandria lived to see another day.
The lowest turnout in the county (below 11 percent) was the Granville precinct that encompasses the Denison University campus. A few precincts in Pataskala and Reynoldsburg as well as Buckeye Lake Village were all below 14 percent.
Turnout can be measured either as a percentage of eligible voters (the voting age population, or VAP) or as a percentage of those actually registered to vote. One of the most interesting things depicted graphically in the Pew article is the wide gap between those two measures in the US compared to 30 other developed countries. Registered voters are considerably fewer than the VAP because registration is neither automatic nor mandated in this country. The Pew writer observes that “…registered voters in the U.S. are much more of a self-selected group, already more likely to vote because they took the trouble to register themselves.”
The essential first step toward voting is registering. The number of registered voters in Licking County is 119,703. US Census data indicate that our VAP, those over the age of 18, is around 132, 688. This means that close to 13,000 people who are old enough to vote are not registered.
Young people everywhere (18-24 years) are the least likely to vote. The barriers to voter turnout range from disaffection with politics and the government to the myth that one person’s vote does not matter. Gerrymandering discourages some voters, as does the lack of access to transportation and information. It is not surprising that turnout was high in Granville, a community with a high percentage of college-educated residents and a low rate of poverty
Increasing voter turnout can best be done person to person and anyone who loves democracy can help. Ask a young person if they are registered and talk to them about why voting is important. Ask an elderly neighbor how she plans to get to the polls. Counter cynicism about voting with a story about how turnout mattered in a specific race or ballot issue.
You can find voter registration forms at the Board of Elections on the square in Newark and every public library in the county. Thanks to the motor voter law, the DMV offers voter registration whenever someone applies for a driver’s license. This summer look for the League of Women voters and other groups encouraging voter registration at outdoor markets and festivals.
Above all, make voting a habit and set an example for your children and grandchildren.
Rita Kipp is the Chair of the League of Women Voters of Licking County