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November 7, 2008

Election turnout -- early numbers not overwhelming

Early analysis of election results nationwide show that turnout may not have been as overwhelming as many expected. It appears that many Republicans stayed home, even as Obama voters were energized and did flock to the polls.

Maryland election officials were predicting an 85 percent turnout rate, which would have been the highest in at least two decades, with 90 percent participation in some jurisdictions.

State elections officials say they'll provide better numbers later today, but right now, based on publically available figures, the turnout rate appears to be 77.5 percent.

Here's how I calculate that:

In the presidential election, there were 2,426,282 million votes cast on Election Day, according to the state board web side. There were 233,137 absentee ballots requested (some of which will not be returned).

Adding those two figures together, and dividing by the number of registered voters -- 3,432,645 -- results in a 77.5 percent participation rate. Left out is provisional ballots.

I'll be interested in seeing what the final, official figure is.

Posted by David Nitkin at 12:09 PM | | Comments (0)
        

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About the bloggers
Laura Smitherman has been ensconced in the State House basement, writing about the governor, General Assembly and vagaries of Maryland politics for several years. An erstwhile business reporter, her interest in politics dates to her days in Washington when she covered Congress and national campaigns for another media outlet. She now follows a range of policy debates from slot-machine gambling to universal health care and energy regulation, while keeping an eye on the next election.

Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital.

Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.

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