Ordinarily, the editorial after an election day, and especially after a primary, is our opportunity to scold. Turnout has been so dismal for so long that it’s part of the drill. We even took to reporting the numbers in inverse as a form of shock therapy (as in, “73 percent of the registered voters failed to vote Tuesdayâ€).
But by late Tuesday night, it was clear that an energized presidential primary in an already-tumultuous and not-so predictable election year has sparked a serious interest in the act of voting. In Orange County, 47.8 percent of registered voters cast a ballot this primary.
Orange County turnout numbers are traditionally hard to figure given the transient nature of a good chunk of the populace of southern Orange, but we haven’t posted a primary turnout nearing 50 percent in some time. In fact, the results are closer to those we typically post in November, when turnout often tops 60 percent. In the 2006 Democratic primary, just over 13 percent voted. In 2000, the number was less than 25 percent.
Whether your candidate won or not, a doubling of political interest, if not outright engagement, is a good reason to feel a little upbeat about the results. A deeper look at the numbers reveals several other reasons.
One is that while percentages were higher, even more impressive is the total number of those voting. In the rather dull 2000 primary that pitted Al Gore and Bill Bradley, the total votes cast in Orange County was just shy of 11,000, with 652 of them listed as “no preference.†By contrast, unofficial results for this year indicate that 39,976 of the county’s Democratic and unaffiliated voters cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential primary. That’s three thousand more than voted Democratic in the 2004 general election. (And by the way, the number of “no preference†votes dropped to 363.)
In addition to the size and percentage of turnout, there was also good news in the number of first-time voters and a considerable jump in countywide registration.
Also helping collect more votes this year was the growing habit among many of voting early. Close to 18,000 voted early this year at the four one-stop sites. In addition to boosting turnout, there was another benefit: On Tuesday, precinct workers reported no problems with lines as a result.
The early voting seems to have helped considerably in boosting turnout. The first week in May is usually a slow time on campus, and that’s kept participation down. But with the opportunity to vote now starting three weeks prior, the number of young people registering and voting here has jumped. On top of that, there appears to have been less of the down-ballot drop off many had worried about.
Let’s hope what we’re seeing is a trend — not a blip.
Another clear signal from NC
There was another indication from this week’s primary that we’re seeing a shift in the political winds. This indication comes from the state’s Third U.S. Congressional District. And though it’s a ways from Orange County, the shift is one local residents can take to heart.
In the third district, Walter Jones Jr., an incumbent Republican, held off a strong primary challenge. Jones has all the conservative bona fides, except for one — he broke, and broke hard, with the current administration on the Iraq War. He’s said he was driven to do so after feeling the weight of writing all those condolence letters to families of soldiers wounded and killed. So, in a heavily Republican and military district, he rebelled from the lock step of his party over Iraq and insisted that we bring home the troops. Even though he was pilloried in the primary campaign for it, Tuesday’s tally gave Jones 60 percent of the vote.
Last year, our own congressman, David Price, noted that for all the opposition, the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War came when members of the GOP leadership went to the White House and demanded that Pres. Nixon pull out the troops. Given the hubris of the current resident of the executive mansion and his congressional backers, that won’t likely happen this year. But Jones’ victory indicates that even among the party’s hardcore base, their day is nearly done, and the sooner we are rid of this president and his war the better.