Editorial: Wow, amazing voter begs the question: Just who’s missing
Despite the disgust many felt at having to vote in another recall election last week, voter turnout in River Falls surged to the point that it rivaled presidential election turnouts.
Despite the disgust many felt at having to vote in another recall election last week, voter turnout in River Falls surged to the point that it rivaled presidential election turnouts.
Local voter turnout every four years in presidential elections typically runs in the 70-80%-range. (Sometimes it’s even higher. For instance, town of River Falls had an 89% voter turnout for the November 2008 presidential election!)
For the June 5 recall won by Gov. Scott Walker, 72.55% turned out to cast their ballots in the city of River Falls; in the town of River Falls, turnout was roughly 73%; in the town of Clifton, 71%; in Kinnickinnic, 76%; in Troy, 70%; in Martell, 75%; and in Pleasant Valley, 72%.
Such elevated voter turnouts show political passions ran deep on both sides. Ironically, anti-recall sentiment may have spurred the high turnout.
Some voters wanted this recall to be the last one in the foreseeable future. That attitude would have favored Walker, the November 2010 general election winner for governor. A sizable number of voters didn’t want the 2010 election result overturned.
Whatever the reasons for voting, we applaud the thousands of River Falls area residents who took the time to vote in such large numbers for yet another election.
Now, an intriguing question remains: Who missed the boat? Who didn’t get out to vote?
It seems incredible that with all the recall hype, all the campaigning, all the worldwide media coverage, etc., that virtually anyone would miss the chance to join the ballot-casting crowds. It was, practically, the in-thing to do on June 5. It was all anyone was talking about.
So while we praise the nearly three-quarters of the electorate who fulfilled its civic duty by voting, we’re left to ponder what happened to the more than one-quarter of the electorate who stayed on the sidelines and missed the historic vote.
The Journal’s online poll question this week asked: What downtown River Falls event do you like best?
Early results: River Falls Days, 70.8%; RiverDazzle (after Thanksgiving), 12.5%; Art on the Kinni, 8.3%; Bluegrass music festival and Town ‘N Country Day, both 4.2%.
Add your vote by going to www.riverfallsjournal.com
Tags: river falls, opinion, editorials, politics
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