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Utah has nation's worst voter turnout rate

This is not at all surprising to me, disgusting, but not surprising. Part of the problem is the non-thinking attitude of most of the LDS people I know (and I am LDS). It's created a more or less one-party system in the State. That means that the Democrats can't get your vote no matter how good of a candidate they field. The Republicans don't have to earn your vote and that's led to widespread corruption- as we are now seeing through scandal after scandal.

It's our fault. We gave these people unchecked power and power unchecked will always corrupt. Our mostly Mormon state legislature has adopted the lowest standards for ethical conduct of ANY legislature in the US.

People have become disenchanted but what they really need to do is SHOW UP and get rid of the people who have become corrupted by power. They aren't accountable to us because we don't hold them accountable. The people have created this problem and they need to step up and fix it.

Don't trust the stats on this one.

there is no point in voting in utah, because the state is conservative and the LDS have too much say in politics

ahhhh, so THAT explains the continued existence of Chris Buttars!!

Maybe the problem is that the LDS majority is disappointed by the Republican Party machine that feeds on corruption and power.

I'm a Republican because I believe in small government, lower taxes, and plain facts of right and wrong. I'm not a Democrat because that party has a tradition of supporting moral relativism and big government.

But now, the Bush43 Republicans in Utah and DC are more like old school Democrats. They ignore plain morality and grow government to entrench their own power.

They hide racism behind "law and order" claims, but flout the basic principles of human decency that make law and order meaningful.

The ONLY reason I went to the caucus was because church leaders asked us to. The party machine ruled and all the important decisions were made at the convention. Of six elected delegates in my precinct, only one bothered to vote in the primary.

Utahans will vote again when one of the parties represents the foundational values of our society. For now, we have a choice between wolves in wolves clothing and wolves in sheep's clothing. The majority choose to stay at home and abstain.

Also - woohoo! first post!

What irony. The lead article is about abysmal voter turnout in Utah, and second article touts all the celebrations and 4th of July patriotism.

Are we patriots when it comes to fireworks and parades and barbecues....but not so much when it comes to selecting our leaders and influencing policy?

Well, there you have it...thank the lunatic fringe who haven't been overcome by apathy for the disaster the GOP has rained down upon us.

Why vote in Utah? You know which party will win. There is no room for any discussion. Rush is right.

All blow and no show.

Methinks it's the cognitive dissonance that explodes when a voter plans to go to the polls. He or she realizes their heart and mind aren't congruent with the dominant political view. It causes paralysis. The voter then stays home rather than vote their conscience which they perceive as sinning. Quite the conundrum.

I just don't have time to vote.I have a large family and my wife stays home to raise the kids. I have to work 2 full-time jobs and a part-time job just to make ends meet. I know that God has inspired my leaders to know who to support in the elections and I know they will tell us who is the right candidate and then I can trust my less busy neighbors to elect the right people. Sort of like voting in proxy. This system has worked for Utah for more than a 160 years. If the rest of the country would follow our example, just look where we coould be today.

I see many excuses on here on why people don't vote. A couple of the excuses are the state is conservative dominated and LDS dominated. With attitudes like that it will continue to be and the only person you can blame is yourself for not voting. I am pretty sure the conservatives won't mind if you guys continue thinking like you currently are either. All I see on here are a bunch of people who have convinced themselves that it isn't worth voting because they think the deck is stacked. Pretty pathetic when you think about it.

Low voter turnout. If there were more primary elections, including Republicans, Democrats and Constitution Party and other parties, not just Republicans, more people would have a reason to go vote.

If we had fewer one-issue or one-race ballots, more people would vote.

The important point is that people have the opportunity to vote, but in Utah County, there were no primary races at all regarding Utah House and Senate seats. None. Zero. Zip. No Democrats, no Republicans, no Constitution, no Libertarian. If people had more to vote about, they would go vote.

We should not be forced to vote nor should we be prevented from voting. Some feel that they are cheated because they can't vote in the Republican primary, but that is silliness if they do not want to be a Republican.

In my opinion, the valid issue in Utah county is that party officials there support the incumbents with money, manipulation (appointed replacement delegates), endorsements for each other
contrary to their own neutrality policies, automatic and discretionary delegates, all intended to avoid primaries, which they did.

There should be more primary races if we want higher voter turnouts. Our voters are not apathetic; they would vote if could.

I do vote. I voted in February. But when the choice comes down to you either vote Republican or Democrat in the primaries, like it was in June, and you have to mark either or on the ballot -- well I don't like any of the selections in either party. And Church has nothing to do with it - it has to do with the Candidate running -- not what religion he/she is. That line I read about in quite a few of these comments "cause Utah is full of LDS and the Church tells their members who to vote for" is getting so old..and BORING. And is so WRONG!! They encourage their members to go out and vote-- but they don't tell us who to vote for.

This is exactly what one-party rule will get you.

The problem is that most Utah residents are convinced that voting has no meaning in Utah. Our elected government officials have indemnified themselves and their administration of accountability. Then there is the censored news media in Utah. They are under the control of the ruling party and are forbidden to disclose the truth about candidates and corruption in Utah's government and it's collaboration with large corporate business leaders. Utahn's don't hear the truth about corruption and all opposing candidates are at the mercy of who the nightly news media is told to support. Voters think they don't have any choice in who runs the government because they aren't given any choices. What ever candidate has the most power with religious and business leaders in Utah is usually the winner, regardless of how many vote. The money in Utah is the power, not the voters. Then many Utahn's are working 2-3 jobs to survive the taxes and corruption that won't go away. With jobs in Utah the voters are not allowed the opportunity to leave a job to vote. The only jobs given this option are government jobs that are also captive voters under the influence of their government employers.

We get the kind of govenment we deserve. True we have a lot of young voters but their interests are computer games, and sport events. Blame it on their parents for not encourgageing their children to get involved in the political processes. Also the vote is a waste of time if you do hold those running for office accountable on the issues on how it will improve our community with less tax dollars.

Isn't it amazing how it takes about 10 seconds for the professional Mormon haters to come out of the woodwork to blame the LDS Church for ANYTHING negative that happens in Utah. They even manage to turn low voter turn out into a gay-rights issue.

The next thing is to blame the Republican Party for anything these people don't like about their lives.

The Church does not tell it's people how to vote. Only that they should vote. We actually have one of the most effective, responsible legislatures in the country.

Having said all of this, I agree that low voter turnout is terrible. I remember when We used to have the highest vote turnout in the nation.

I also agree that one-party rule is dangerous. If we aren't vigilant, we'll become like DEMOCRATS.

I get to see what the results will be by the polls so why should I vote. They should use the polls to decide the elcections and save us time and money. I would like to outlaw polls.

To rkbl at 1:23 am

I'd like for you to tell me what church your leaders come from. Because in my LDS ward and stake no God-inspired leader has ever told me who "the right candidate" is! The LDS Church does NOT endorse candidates. Let's set the record straight!

The headline on this article is so misleading. How does a survey on one election translate into a conclusion that Utah has the lowest voter turnout. It should say "Utah has lowest voter turnout in 2006 election" that would bring some honesty back to the news business!