"If Romney had been on the ballot, Utah — I would have to imagine — would have done much better than it did," he said. "Absent Romney, I don't think McCain did much worse than any other Republican candidate would have."

Jowers noted that lousy turnouts are not new in Utah, which had the nation's worst voter turnout in the 2006 non-presidential elections. That comes despite all of the money spent on races here and even pleas from churches for members to vote.

Reasons for that besides lack of competitiveness in races may include, he said, the fact that Utah has the youngest population in the nation — and young people tend to vote less.

Jowers also said reform of campaign finance and ethics rules in Utah might help to reverse low turnouts.

For example, he said state laws that allow candidates to take as much as they like from unions, corporations and special interests puts no pressure on them to seek low-dollar amounts from voters. "And the most likely people to vote are those who have donated in any amount," Jowers said.

Utah's lax ethics laws also have led to many news stories about special-interest gifts for lawmakers and the influence of groups with big money. "If you have a negative feeling toward government and government officials, you are less likely to take the time to get engaged and involved in politics," he said.

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