Elections Data Point to Bear In Mind Re Turnout
Tuesday night I went back to my voting location to see how turnout was, an hour before closing (a lot heavier), and chatted with the poll workers briefly about things. They mentioned to me that the registration was very high, for a midterm - out of about 2000 people voting in our little ward, they had registered about 200 that day.
Which - contrarily - means that the reported turnout by percent was going to be smaller, because the proportionate number of voters in a given district is going to be less compared to the existing voter rolls. So if you hear "turnout was down to 40 percent from 41 percent in 2002" check ALL the numbers: don't automatically assume that your neighbors were more apathetic this time. It could be just the opposite, that they came out in droves to register, instead.
Which - contrarily - means that the reported turnout by percent was going to be smaller, because the proportionate number of voters in a given district is going to be less compared to the existing voter rolls. So if you hear "turnout was down to 40 percent from 41 percent in 2002" check ALL the numbers: don't automatically assume that your neighbors were more apathetic this time. It could be just the opposite, that they came out in droves to register, instead.