Idaho Secretary of State: Voter Turnout Declining
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa predicts 58 percent of Idaho’s registered voters will turn out in Tuesday’s general election.
The Spokesman-Review reports the amount is equal to almost 40 percent of Idaho’s voting-age population.
Ysursa says he’s disturbed by the consistent decline in voter participation despite the removal of voter obstacles.
Idaho is one of just eight states to allow Election Day registration. It also offers no-excuse absentee voting and early voting.
Ysursa’s prediction matches voter turnout during 2010’s general election in a nonpresidential year, but it is slightly lower than the 2006 nonpresidential general election.
Idahoans tend to vote more in presidential election years. In 2012, 74 percent of registered voters went to the polls, while in 2008 it was 77 percent.