Utah must stimulate voter turnout

Is voter turnout declining, and if so is that a problem? Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert doesn't seem to think so. In an op-ed on this page recently, the state's chief elections officer concluded that a rate of 68 percent of registered voters casting votes is a success.

The reality is something different. As Mr. Herbert must know, Utah's actual turnout rate (the number of eligible voters who go to the polls) has reached alarmingly low levels.

According to the United States Elections Project, the percentage of eligible voters participating in the presidential election fell from 59 percent in 2004 to 54 percent in 2008. In 2004, Utah was 18th from the bottom in voter turnout. By 2008, Utah had fallen to fourth from the bottom. Utah was now in the same league as Arkansas, Hawaii and West Virginia.

This decline occurred while other states increased voter turnout rates. Thirty-five states increased their voter turnout rate, while the rate declined in 14 states. But Utah had the dubious honor of having the biggest drop in voter turnout.

One frequently offered explanation is the decline in voting by Republicans. Unhappy with their nominee, many simply stayed home. Utahns may have been particularly sore at the Republican Party because the preferred Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, lost the presidential nomination and was passed over by John McCain for vice-presidential running mate.

However, if these theories explained voter behavior, then we should have seen a decline only in this election. But the 2006 midterm election was just as bad. According to a study by the U.S. Census bureau, Utah had the lowest voter turnout in 2006. Utah's turnout rate was 11 points below the national average.

In fact, the trend of voter turnout decline in Utah has been steady over time, not just in one election. In 1968, 77 percent of Utah's eligible voters went to the polls. Since then, voter turnout has gone like this: 1972 – 69 percent, 1976 – 68, 1980 – 65, 1984 – 62, 1988 – 60, 1992 – 65, 1996 – 50, 2000 – 51 percent.