Reader comments
Utah must stimulate voter turnout

Come on Dr. Davis, you know that Utahns vote on two issues, abortion rights and gay marriage. It is a simple fact then that the only reason to vote for most is to be part of the crowning of the person picked at the Republican state convention to run for Governor, Attorney General, etc...

You are correct that this one party state leads to low turnout. As an example, living in West Jordan where I have Provo and Utah county with Jason Chaffetz as the GOP nominee for Congress, it was a foregone conclusion that my vote for any Democrat from President Obama on down had little chance of changing the outcome. In this bleak scenario, many people simply stay home.

With Mitt's dismissal by the GOP and the recent Glen Beck dustup, perhaps Utahns will start to notice that their Mormon religion is not shunned by Democrats (see Senate Majority Leader) and will figure out that no Prophet has said it is a requirement to support Republicans.

Until that day comes voter turnout in Utah will continue to decline.

Way to go, Richard. Blame the Republicans for your shortcomings.

Maybe if you and the rest of the Utah Democratic Party weren't just sock puppets for the National Education Association you would get more votes. Why don't you change THAT first and then we'll see if the other changes are necessary?

Having more of a thing does not translate into having the best. While I agree that more people should be involved I think we should have a test prior to allowing anyone to vote. It should be based on the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the history of why and how our country was founded. Mere existence as a citizen of age does not qualify a person to pick a leader.

Professor Davis, with all due respect, you write an article which claims to propose solutions for getting voters who choose to stay home out to the polls and you make a compelling case that too many voters are staying home.

But when I review your proposals for actually increasing turnout, your first two are completely nonsensical since they both deal with what can only be described as "ballot design."

Since the voters who choose to stay home will never SEE the ballot (with or without your "enhancements,") isn't it just a bit silly to suggest that somehow those changes are going to encourage non-voters to become voters? Seriously.

Isn't your real issue the fact that the straight-party voting option and the ability of county clerks to put their party first on the ballot suppress votes for Democrats?

My guess is that it is.

Ironically, those two issues are only disadvantageous to Democrats in counties where Republicans predominate.

But those very same factors are DISADVANTAGEOUS TO REPUBLICANS in Salt Lake County because:

A) MANY more voters in Salt Lake County vote straight party Republican than Democrat, and

B) the SLCounty Clerk is a Democrat, so Democrats appear first.

Wanna try again?

Every person that stays home gives my vote more power.

It would be great if we would all be informed and wise in our decisions and then we all come together for the best outcome.

Instead, we are led by whichever issue gets the most press. Sad.

We need education on principles and the issues will resolve themselves.

Doctor,

Poor diagnosis of the problem, of course its hard to admit that yourself is to blame for not placing candidates on the ballot that can compete.

You're inability to capitalize on the national Democratic excitement and the voucher issue (despite your best efforts) shows how out of touch Democrats are with the people of Utah.

In my mind the most important principle of the Republican Party is "Personal Responsibility". This article further highlights that Democrats prefer to blame others rather than themselves.

"quality not quantity" when you say: "I think we should have a test prior to allowing anyone to vote" that is so very genteel.

Who gets to write this test? Should it be written so that minorities cannot pass? How about poor people?

Heck, lets eliminate the Department of Education and free public schools, then only the children of certain desirable people will get enough education to pass the voting test.

Sounds to me like the poll taxes imposed in the south after the civil war.

Problem is, this country is guided by a Constitution that has a judicial review section. When you say of your proposed test, "It should be based on the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the history of why and how our country was founded"

You failed your own test because the Supreme Court has already ruled that placing barriers based on anything but citizenship are unconstitutional (with the exception of felons).

Of course, your thinking mirrors that of the Republican party, namely, prevent undesirables from voting and we can win.

I see no problem. Clueless people should stay home.

2008 Presidential Election:

Salt Lake County = BLUE

GWB said: "...perhaps Utahns will start to notice that their Mormon religion is not shunned by Democrats"

Yeah, like they did with Prop 8, with OVERWHELMING majority of protestors being card-carrying liberal Democrats.
Demo libs will NEVER accept LDS unless LDS changes to THEIR side.
No way, no thanks.

I'd like to bet that the real reason for low voter turnout is because candidates for the two major parties do not inspire confidence or offer what the voters want.

People are traditional partisans in most cases. When they do not see their candidates take a firm stand on what they believe passionately in, they do not vote. The trumpet makes an uncertain sound and the army does not appear for battle.

Bilbo, the POLITICAL ACTIVITY of the LDS church in taking rights away from a group (prior to passage of prop 8 they had a right to marry) is what targeted the protests, not that people were LDS or any other religion.

Democrats do not have a litmus test on religion and actually believe that a mormon can rise to any level in the party (again, see Senate Majority Leader as an example).

We saw what happened to Mitt as he tried to ascend to the highest rankings of the Republican party.

Reality is that Democrats support free agency and the right of individuals to choose their religion and how they live, Republicans support making all live by their moral code.

As Utah becomes more "liberalized", voter turnout numbers decrease. Oh well, let's just blame it on President Bush, the man who stirred up Hurricane Katrina with his giant finger, then blew it into New Orleans. It's a fact!!

Sure, people have the right to NOT vote, but are municipalities required to make registration easier, or do they frequently just sit back hoping new voters never show up? Can registration be done in subdivisions? Reservations? College campuses? Bus depots? BY missionaries outside the area who can provide ID? All these can be done at little cost without overtly trying to make political races more competitive.

Professor Davis just got schooled HARD by Mike Ridgway. As a constant Ridgway critic, I have to give kudos where they are due: Nice work, Mike. Perhaps it's time for BYU to raise their standards?

Mr. Davis, the constitutional duty of the Lieutenant Governor is not to inspire "competitive races" between the Parties, as you seem to imply. His job, as pointed out in the Utah Constitution is:

The Lieutenant Governor shall:
(1) serve on all boards and commissions in lieu of the Governor whenever so designated by the Governor;
(2) perform such duties as may be delegated by the Governor; and
(3) perform other duties as may be provided by statute.

Statutorily, there is more. He is indeed, Utah's Cheif Election Officer, but nowhere in statute is he asked or even allowed to make efforts to "improve competition."

Therein lies the difference between Republicans and Democrats: Where competition does not exist, Democrats propose government imposed remedies. Conservative Republicans propose that those citizens who see a problem address the problem through their own industry, talents, and abilities.

As Pignanelli has said, Democrats will never win office on an "affirmative action for Democrats" platform.

The only people that should not be able to pass the test would be the uneducated. If not wanting uneducated people to pick my leaders is genteel, then I am guilty of that and probably more. The next step would be to limit the vote to property owners. Heck, I'd even let women vote so long as they owned a piece of real estate.

I'm sorry, but you have failed the test. The USSC does not have the final word on the U.S. Constitution. Any decision they make can be amended. They ever overturn themselves on occasion.

To "for GWB": you say "Any decision they make can be amended. They ever overturn themselves on occasion."

So let me ask you: do you realistically think they will ever overturn the right of every citizen over age 18 (that is not a convicted felon like Scooter Libby) to vote?

What state do you think will pass such a law when it is doomed to a long court battle?

Here's is my point, GWB; Encouraging the ignorant to vote when they have no idea who or what they are voting for is a mistake. If you have seen or heard the Howard Stern ditty on youtube about "Harlem voters" you would understand why there should be a test prior to voting.

Of course, nobody will advocate allowing tests to be conducted. Politicians would prefer an ignorant electorate, as apparently, so do you.

The REAL reason for low voter turnout in Utah is that Utah Utes and BYU Cougars distract voters. Now if we didn't have football season RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of VOTING season, this wouldn't be so bad. And when it comes to PRIMARY season, well, that's BASEBALL / SOCCER season. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get involved with politics with all these sports going on. Sports demands SO MUCH more of our attention, all one has to do is look at the recent U of U hoopla to see what's REALLY important to Utahns.

We all know for at least the past dozen years (since the Edwards years anyway), both the Utes and Cougars have become progressively more significant rivals for each other and in the national arena. Someone forgot to remove these conflicting variables from relevancy of WHY voters don't vote!

I'm going to say if we had polling locations at our football stadiums (smaller fields elsewhere around the state) and vote booths at sports bars on game night, we'd get at least 80% turnout if we treated voting like a tailgate party.

First of all those that are not informed or don't care, should stay home. Another reason for lower registered turn out is the motor voter registration. Many of those that could careless about government check the registration box. If that were taken off most of these folks wouldn't bother to register, and thereby increase the percentage of registered voters that vote.

Mr. Davis may be a political science teacher at BYU and he may understand more about politics than I do, but I doubt that he associates with very many people that don't vote. He may have done studies, but never understand the individual reasons. Most non voters don't care, or are too lazy, but that doesn't stop them from being a complaining victim.

If someone really wanted to perk up the interest of voters try giving them a choice, or even none of the above for that matter.