Some Sad Statistics
| With the May primary election less than two months
away, there seems to be a lot of interest among the voters. There are a
number of hotly contested races on the ballot. But is there really? Just
four years ago was the last county primary. That election also had a
number of hotly contested races but would you believe that less than 30%
of the registered voters bothered to go to the polls to vote. Only 8,299
of the 28,118 registered voters voted. Far more than twice as many
didn't vote than did. That's a sad statement.
In all fairness, this primary has more candidates than any county election has ever had. There will be 48 candidates in the republican and democrat primary elections in May. Back in 2006 there was just 30. The large list of candidates should surely increase voter turnout some, but those of us who track elections are just hoping that at least 10,000 will vote this time. That would still be just around 33% and that's still disturbing. A citizens right to vote is an almost sacred right and how so many can just blow it off is beyond me. We have seen in other countries where people have been killed just for trying to vote and in much of the world people don't have the freedom to vote. We do live in a wonderfully blessed country. Some may not know it, but your voting record is public information. No, no one ever knows who you vote for but whether you vote or not. You can purchase a copy of the voter list from the election commission office or you can even look it up on line. Click Here For State Look Up. What you will find when you study the voter list is that while the voter turn out is very low for local elections the turn out is much higher for state and national elections. It's great that voters turn out for those elections but what people should realize is that in reality local elected officials can have as great of an impact on you and your affairs as any state of federal officials. Local elected officials can raise your property taxes, impact your property rights and determine the direction of your public education. Now days voting is more convenient and easy than ever before. There will be two weeks of early voting. You can pretty well drop in at either location at your convenience to cast your ballot. My message to everyone is get out and vote. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain. Below is a precinct report from 2006 showing the number of registered voters by precinct and how many actually voted. Also below is the current voter registrations by precinct and the early voting schedule and locations. GET OUT AND VOTE
Loudon County Primary
Early Voting Schedule APRIL 2010
Early Voting Locations Loudon County Commission Office 100 River Road # 108 Loudon, Tennessee 37774 100 West Broadway Lenoir City, Tennessee 37771 |
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3/8/10