Posted on 05/24/2003 5:58:47 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Early voting turnout low for runoff BY HEIDI TOTH AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
If early voter turnout is any indication, the next U.S. representative of District 19 will be chosen by a small percentage of the district.
The June 3 runoff election between Republicans Randy Neugebauer of Lubbock and Mike Conaway of Midland is the final step of a six-month campaign to replace U.S. Rep. Larry Combest, R-Lubbock, who is resigning May 31 after 18 years representing District 19.
Lubbock County, which includes the largest metropolitan area in the district, counted 4,594 early voters of more than 140,000 registered voters, according to the Lubbock County Clerk's office.
Early voting • Lubbock County: 4,594.
• Ector County: 1,322.
• Midland County: 3,402.
• Howard County: 457.
Source: County Clerks' office
All numbers accurate at 11 a.m. Friday
Other counties have seen similar turnouts.
According to the Midland County Clerk's office, 3,272 people have voted early of 67,988 registered voters.
Ector County, where Odessa is located, had 1,322 early voters as of Friday morning. More than 65,000 people in the county are registered to vote, according to the Ector County Clerk's office.
Howard County, home to Big Spring, had 457 early voters of 17,540 registered voters, according to the Howard County Clerk's office.
Early voting numbers could be a predictor of voter turnout for the election, which means the Ameri can tradition of low turnout continues, said Brian Gerber, Texas Tech assistant professor of political science. The low numbers are even more anticipated in elections like this one.
"People are not making a choice between two different ideological approaches to government," he said. "People aren't making a grand decision between two different views of the world.
"Probably the biggest distinction between the two is the area of the district they come from."
Primary elections and special elections tend to be similar in that only people who are interested in the election usually vote, he said. Because there are no high-profile races, such as for president and governor, most people stay home.
"Only people that are intensely interested in the election tend to show up," Gerber said.
Morris Wilkes, an independent political consultant, agreed with Gerber.
"It's the only thing on the ballot, and not much else is going on," he said.
The lower turnout of early voters also is indicative of voter apathy in this race, Wilkes said. The mechanics of early voting make it easy to participate, as early voting goes on for two weeks and at locations throughout the district.
The election will come down to which candidate can attract the most voters and get them to the polls, he said.
"If one of the candidates gets their voters out and the other one doesn't, then obviously the one that did is going to win," Wilkes said. "It's basically a race now to see who can get the most voters to the polls."
The special election, held May 3, featured 17 names on the ballot, 11 of which were Republican. Neuge bauer won that competition with 22.3 percent of the vote, and Conaway came in second with 21.2 percent.
According to the Texas election code, a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of the vote to win.
Of Lubbock County's 141,944 registered voters, only 26,139 voted in the special election, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office.
Friday is the final day of early voting.
htoth@lubbockonline.com 766-8716
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