Low Voter Turnout Expected for Primaries

It appears that voter turnout for the today’s primary elections could be lower than ever. Matt Marsden, public affairs director for RevSix Data Systems, which is tracking absentee ballots, says that the low rate of return on absentee ballots, could be an indication that fewer than one million voters will be casting ballots this year. That would be lower than the previous low in 1990, when just over a million turned out, translating to about 15-percent of registered voters. One reason for the expected low turnout is the fact that there are no primary challengers for governor, where incumbent Republican Rick Snyder and Democrat challenger Mark Schauer are each running unopposed. And in the US Senate race to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat of Carl Levin, both Republican Terri Lynn Land and Democrat Gary Peters are also running unopposed.