Though Charlottesville had its highest voter turnout ever this year, the percentage of registered voters who voted Nov. 4 was lower than expected, Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said. As a result of last week’s voter turnout levels, Charlottesville will not be required to adjust its voting precincts for the next cycle of elections.
If more than 4,000 voters had turned out to cast their ballots in any of Charlottesville’s eight voting precincts, the city would have had to adjust its precinct boundaries, Charlottesville Deputy Registrar Dianne Gilliland said. Though the city saw 6,000 to 7,000 citizens register to vote before this election, the city did not reach the 4,000-person limit in any one of its precincts.
Gilliland said voter turnout throughout the city was just above 70 percent, up from 67 percent in 2004.
Norris added, however, that there are questions about the accuracy of these voter-turnout percentages. Some people may have registered to vote in Charlottesville and then moved out of town, he said, noting that this could cause “dead weight” in calculating voter turnout percentages if those voters were not taken off Charlottesville’s voter registration rolls.
Nevertheless, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections Web site, the 69.89-percent turnout of registered Charlottesville voters was less than the commonwealth’s voter turnout average of 73.96 percent.
Norris said a fear of long lines at polling places may have discouraged some citizens from voting. While some potential voters had a long wait in the morning, by the afternoon there were hardly any lines, he added. Another possible reason voter turnout was not as high as expected was that while voter turnout increased among Democrats, “enthusiasm for the Republican ticket was lower than it was four years ago,” Norris said.
Data show that Charlottesville voters did, in fact, have less enthusiasm overall for the Republican ticket this year than in 2004: According to the State Board of Elections Web site, 27 percent of Charlottesville voters supported the Republican presidential ticket in 2004, compared to 20.34 percent this year.
Dan Keyserling, Center for Politics deputy director of communications and former Cavalier Daily executive editor, said many Republicans might have stayed home “in a gesture of futility” because they did not think the McCain-Palin ticket would win. Keyserling also noted that turnout nationwide for the election was lower than expected.
“So much attention and emphasis was placed on the fact that this year was a transformational election that it seemed logical to assume that voter turnout would be unprecedentedly high,” Keyserling said.
Norris said while he is pleased that so many Charlottesville citizens voted in the election, he is concerned that about 30 percent of registered voters did not cast a ballot.
“We have to keep working to get those registered to actually come out and vote,” he said. He added that one of the lessons from this election — particularly from the Fifth District congressional contest between Tom Perriello, D, and Rep. Virgil Goode, R — is that every vote counts.
“One of the closest, if not the closest, congressional races in the country was here, and a tiny percentage of voters made the difference,” Norris said.
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