Turnout in 2000 primaries second lowest in 40 years

By Will Lester, Associated Press, 08/31/00

WASHINGTON -- Voter turnout in the 2000 presidential primaries, which lost their competitive edge after the first week of March, was the second lowest since 1960 -- behind only 1996, says a report released Thursday.

The leapfrogging of states to hold primaries by late February and early March of this year left two-thirds of the states without a role in picking the nominees. The party nominations were settled by March 7.

"This is clearly the effect of front-loading and the continued disengagement of American citizens from their politics," said Curtis Gans, director of the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate.

Overall turnout in states that had presidential primaries in both parties was 17.7 percent of those old enough to vote -- 18 and over. In 1996, voter turnout was 16.9 percent of those old enough to vote.

The turnout through Super Tuesday, March 7, was 22.9 percent of those old enough to vote, while it dropped to 14 percent after that.

Turnout was low overall despite the 12 GOP state turnout records largely credited to the candidacy of Sen. John McCain and his intense competition with the eventual Republican nominee, George W. Bush.

Overall voter turnout was about a third lower than the average turnout two decades ago and Democratic turnout was less than half of what it was in the 1960s and 1970s.

The low voter turnout in the primaries, generally low interest in the campaigns reflected in polls so far, and low convention viewership points toward low voter turnout in November, Gans said.

"Turnout is going to be low, whether it will be lower than in 1996 is hard to say," said Gans. Voter turnout in 1996 was 49 percent of the voting-age population and the lowest general election turnout since 1924.

Voter interest was higher in the period through Super Tuesday. There were record high levels of turnout in four states that had presidential primaries in both parties -- New Hampshire (43.1 percent), Washington state (30 percent), Maine (16.6 percent) and Rhode Island (11 percent).

Democratic turnout was at record high levels in Washington state and Maine.

And the GOP set record high levels of turnout in 12 states: New Hampshire, South Carolina, Washington, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Missouri, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland and Rhode Island.