At only 42.96%, eight points below the statewide average, Pierce County had the lowest voter turnout in the state in the 2009 general election. Pierce is also the only county in the state without all mail-in elections.
Hmm.
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I would have still voted if I had to go to the polling place, but vote by mail made it so much easier.
Voting is a civic responsibility. A cost of being part of society.
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The other unique thing about Pierce County is that very confusing Instant Runoff Voting feature. Last year, that appeared to dissuade many voters from completing all parts of the ballot.
So, I wouldn’t attribute it all to the mail-in v. poll-place difference.
But Lynn, if they completed any part of the ballot, they’d be counted as having voted.
In fact, if they sent in a completely blank ballot — or if they went to the polls, signed in, then dropped the blank ballot into the opscan — that would count as a vote too.
I’m pretty sure the % of mail in ballots didn’t have much to do with it. Lack of local media, no real hot races and IRV (which was voted out) where probably the deciding factors.
And backward hicks. Since we can’t blame everything on the rich folks without the righties getting their undies in a bunch, lets blame it on the backward, unemployed, gun loving, bible thumping, gay hating, hicks.
Blue John.
Since when are those who think mail-in ballots are more safe and efficient than going to a polling site really care about responsibility?
Espouse a system of relative social values and you get relative participation in the process.
Pierce County’s ballot, with Instant Runoff was so long it required extra postage; $.64, I think. King County’s required only a regular first class stamp.
@10
I forgot about that. Good thing I dropped my ballot off at one of the drop off booths instead of putting it in the mail!
“…Pierce County had the lowest voter turnout in the state…”
Another chance for the elitist snobs of King County to show their superiority over lowly Pierce County. Christ Goldy, you’re as bad as that worthless TV station, KIRO, and its constant denegration of Pierce County. All those fuckheads do all day long is figure how to slant local news stories to show that Pierce County is inferior to King County. They go out of their way to make Pierce County look bad.
Well, that’s fine. I’d rather live here in Pierce County than your neo-socialist paradise up North. You can have it!!
re:12
Like I said @8, we’ve have a surplus of backward hicks in Pierce County.
We have… Goldy, bring back the edit feature!
Are you disputing the facts, PI?
All Goldy did was mention a couple of indisputable observations (lowest turnout, only county still with polling places). Period. End of “factoid”. No commentary other than Hmm.
Seems to me that you’re overly sensitive, PI. You see an insult even where none exists.
That, or you’re again demonstrating your belief that reality has a liberal bias.
@15
See #’8 & 13.
OK, Michael. Your opinion on Pierce County is clear.
But unless you’re a sockpuppet for Goldy, I don’t see how that applies to my comment about the all-fact, neutral posting.
Oh, and for the record, turnout in urban Democratic Tacoma was exactly the same as in Pierce County as a whole.
Throw in a few more factors:
The auditor’s office was headed up by a partisan hack who has no interest in good government, and she appointed the immediate past chair of the Republican party to serve as her deputy.
There was absolutely no promotion of the election from her office, as they were too busy doing whatever it was they were doing.
Ranked Choice Voting did play a role, but it also drew people to the ballot box as they did not like it in practice last year.
I was a poll voter until ’08, I would still be a poll voter but the convenience of mail balloting is better for my schedule.
Just this week, the county council (a Republican super majority of 5-2 … which was accomplished 10 years ago with redistricting), mandated that the auditor’s office (this time it will be a competent, effective manager who will get things done correctly) keep polling places open … they then stripped 150K from her budget that was specifically for polling places.
Insofar as the intelligence of the electorate, there are many moving parts, and the elimination of the polling places would increase the turnout a bit … but then again, we have a highly transient population when you include the military bases, areas of high poverty, and a large rural area … there’s a microcosm of Washington right here.
Well crap, there goes that theory.
Actually, my theory was stated in post #7
I think it’s pretty obvious that in the other posts I was just fucking around.
PseudoPolitically Incorrect @ 12,
“Another chance for the elitist snobs of King County to show their superiority over lowly Pierce County.”
Superiority? No…just superior electoral turn-out. Big difference. The latter is based on a factual reality.
“Christ Goldy, you’re as bad as that worthless TV station, KIRO, and its constant denegration of Pierce County. All those fuckheads do all day long is figure how to slant local news stories to show that Pierce County is inferior to King County.”
Then don’t fuckin’ watch KIRO, for crying out loud!
“I’d rather live here in Pierce County than your neo-socialist paradise up North. You can have it!!”
Socialist? Socialist?!? Gee…I never would have taken you for one of those neo-politically correct, cockamamie Beck Aid-drinking wackjobs.
I live in beautiful downtown Puyallup and I voted. I think it’s the folks up Buckley way that brings the average down. They are still confused with the 4 lane highway up there that makes up part of 410 now. Excuse those folks. And the high military population who may not be in the area now but registered might be part of it. But I’m voting for the Buckley thingy.
N in Seattle @ 6 – But seriously, I hear that it was very deflating for folks, not always knowing what to do or voting in only half the races because there were two separate ballots and that’s new. That might have been enough to keep a few folks from trying it again.
Off topic but FakeTedVanDyk is the funniest thing on the intertubez.
I’ve lived in Pierce county for 8 years and it DOES suck, and is at least worse than everybody up there thinks.
Goldy is being way too kind about this sewer.
It’s not like Politically Incoherent is raising the level here, either.
Politically Incorrect at 12
You’re usually better than that post. Are you feeling alright? Hey, I went to college in Pierce County. I’ve lived there. I love the place. Fort Lewis does skew its votes a bit. I don’t quite get your resentment against Seattle. I most certainly never sensed any competition between the two cities. Again, are you feeling alright?
NOBODY down here feels alright. You lucked out in escaping before it infected you.