The right to vote, a democratic principle, is generally coveted by those nations fighting for democracy. But here in a country that has enjoyed this right for more than 200 years, checking a box or punching a ballot has recently churned out a lackluster voter turnout in Oregon, especially in special elections such as today’s.
Cast your voteBallots must be turned in by tonight at 8 p.m., or they won’t be counted. The mailing deadline has already passed, so voters will have to take their ballots to any one of dozens of drop-off locations in Eugene and Springfield. For students, the elections office provides a 24-hour drop box at the University, located under the EMU. For a complete list of drop box locations, visit www.co.lane.or.us/Elections/DropOff.htm. |
Only an average of 37 percent of the estimated eligible voters in Oregon actually voted during the last four special ballot elections. In the September 2003 special election, 25 percent of those eligible actually voted, and 32 percent in the September 2002 special election.
The turnout has a lot to do with the ballot measures, said Paul Newman, a Lane County Elections Division employee.
“Just look at the ’03 and ’02 special elections,” he said. “It all has to do with the issues. I mean, it’s issue driven, and how fired up people are” usually represents the number of people voting.
If campaign dollars correlate with how “fired up” people are for this special election, then voter turnout could be the highest of all time for the two state measures, Measures 49 and 50. This year, campaign financiers fueled the most expensive ballot election in Oregon’s history by spending well more than $20 million, which is more than the 10 ballot measures on the November 2006 ballot election combined.
“I suspect with Measure 50 that big tobacco is actually trying to suppress voter turnout with over-saturation” because “the tobacco companies really fear this measure,” said Russ Kelley, a spokesman for Oregon’s House Speaker Jeff Merkley. “I think it is very different with (Measure) 49 because there is not the lopsided spending on this issue.”
The spending may prove to have a positive impact on voter turnout, however, and reverse the special election trend of the past.
The number of ballots counted through Sunday has already reached 42 percent in Lane County and 38 percent statewide, while the biggest ballot returns may have yet to be counted.
“Sometimes on real contentious races, people just wait for all the dirt to get out, and will hang out right up until election day,” Newman said.
Students generally attract attention from candidates seeking election, but the ballot measure campaign tends to neglect this group. This year’s campaign advertisements have been geared toward middle-aged adults, and public debates about Eugene’s two city measures were almost bare of students.
The ASUO however, usually leads an initiative to get students registered to vote and knows the impact this demographic can have.
“Last year we had 7,000 students registered for the Congressional election, and registered 1,390 students for this small ballot election,” said ASUO President Emily McLain. “We were really excited to get students on campus registered to vote and engaged in the political process.”
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