Turnout at the polls in Athens County has been dismally low, and figures from Tuesday’s election show that this year was no different.
Turnout at the polls in Athens County has been dismally low, and figures from Tuesday’s election show that this year was no different.
Local Democrats, in particular, blamed those low turnout rates for mixed election results.
In the seven precincts where on-campus students report, about 2.5 percent of the roughly 6,600 registered voters cast ballots. That percentage was 11.66 percent in 2010, when 10,967 folks turned out to vote at corresponding precinct.
Turnout in those precincts still fared better than last year, when a meager 62 people voted altogether.
Athens County Democratic Party Chair Alan Trout and Herman Carson, unsuccessful challenger for Athens County Common Pleas Court Judge, both pointed to those figures and said more voters, particularly OU students, would’ve helped them out at the polls.
“All the students I’ve talked to today haven’t voted,” Trout told The Post after hearing about the defeat of Kathy Hecht, Democratic candidate for county auditor.
Pete Couladis, chair of the Athens County Republican Party, said he couldn’t explain why people aren’t interested.
Money was spent on advertisements and mailings in the county, so voters shouldn’t claim they’re ill-informed, he said.
He added that there were enough contested races to keep them interested, too.
“Too many young people are just totally disconnected,” he said.
Debbie Quivey, the director of the Athens County Board of Elections, couldn't offer an explanation either — especially about why turnout among students would be so low, but wasn’t surprised by the turnout.
The numbers on voter turnout usually fall between the 30 to 40 percent range, she said, and if someone had asked her beforehand, she would have estimated around 34 percent turnout this year, which was roughly the countywide turnout figure.
“It's been dropping for 12 years –– I can't tell you why,” Quivey said.
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