Record low voter turnout in county

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Princeton resident Danny Sissel prepares to cast his vote early Tuesday morning at the polling place located at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church on Dover Road. Voter turn-out for Tuesday’s primary election was a record low of just 17 percent in Bureau County due to no referendum questions on the ballot, and only one contested county-wide race. (BCR photo/Donna Barker)

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PRINCETON — Voter turnout in Bureau County for a primary election sunk to a record low on Tuesday, according to Bureau County Clerk Kami Hieronymus.

Tuesday’s turnout was at 17 percent of the county’s 23,216 registered voters. Primary voter turnout records have been kept for more than 20 years.

Recording the lowest voter turnout in the county was the Fairfield precinct, at 8 percent, followed by Leepertown at 10 percent and Selby 2 and Hall 4, each at 11 percent.

Precincts having the greatest percentage of turnout for Tuesday's election were Wheatland, at 27 percent, followed by Gold, Mineral, Princeton 1 and Princeton 6, who all recorded a 24 percent turnout.

Statewide, Tuesday’s primary also apparently set a new low record, according to Illinois State Board of Elections statistics. Until Tuesday, the low record for voter turnout in a statewide primary was 25 percent, which was hit in 1978 and again in 2006. Dan White, who heads the Illinois State Board of Elections, estimated this year's turnout was under 25 percent, but official numbers weren't yet available.

Looking at possible reasons for Tuesday’s low voter turnout, Hieronymus said she thinks there are definitely people who do not vote in primaries because they do not want to have to declare a political party. Other states have open primaries in which voters choose from all candidates. Illinois has a closed primary in which voters choose a political party and vote for only those candidates.

Another reason for Tuesday’s low voter turnout could be the timing of the primary, Hieronymus said. People just aren’t as likely to go out in the cold and snow to vote. Also, people may not feel there is enough time between the candidate filing period, which began in October, and the election date for people to become informed about the candidates, especially with the holidays and possible weather problems.

The state of Illinois needs to make some changes to encourage voter turnout at the primaries, Hieronymus said. She supports the open primary ballot that other states use and also would like to see the primary election pushed back to the traditional third week of March, or even later.

“If we are trying to encourage people to vote, we have to work on all the elements that play a factor in people going to the polls,” Hieronymus said.

Though Tuesday’s voter turnout was the lowest in any county primary election, the voter turnout for the April 1987 consolidated election in Bureau County was at only 15 percent, Hieronymus said.

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