Primaries draw little interest

8/14/08
Public officials, take note: A remarkably small slice of the electorate has decided who will represent the major parties in state and local elections this fall.
Democratic primaries throughout Connecticut on Tuesday brought a few surprises, but it must be disheartening for winners as well as losers that turnout was so light. Even in heavily Democratic Bridgeport, where a number of hard-fought local races promised to spark at least some interest, fewer than one in 10 eligible voters went to the polls.
For state Rep. Robert Keeley, it’s a difficult way to lose his seat after 24 years in office. Challenger Auden Grogins deserves credit for running a strong campaign, but it’s disappointing to see so few people turn out to decide races that can have a real impact. State government can seem removed from day-to-day life, but decisions in Hartford affect all of us.
Many of the local primaries were a continuation of last year’s mayoral race between winner Bill Finch and state Rep. Christopher Caruso, who defeated his own challenger handily. But the split decision, with Caruso supporter Keeley falling while others among his backers kept their seats, promises no thawing of tensions in the Park City for the foreseeable future.
For the right to challenge U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays in the 4th District, it was a rout of epic proportions. Jim Himes, of Greenwich, defeated his opponent, Lee Whitnum — who lacked funding, supporters and a coherent rationale behind her campaign — by pulling in about 87 percent of the vote. Even considering his opponent’s weakness, that is a wide margin of victory. Himes emerges well positioned to take on Shays this fall.
But the real legacy of this primary should be the realization that August primaries are a bad idea. It was just two years ago that such a vote set records for turnout; but that race — resulting in U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman losing the nomination of his lifelong political party — was the exception. Most primaries don’t attract international attention, and consequently do not draw many people away from their vacations.
This primary day was proof of that, with no-wait voting all across Bridgeport and the region. No one questions the legitimacy of the outcomes — every candidate faced the same conditions. But state leaders should think seriously about whether voting in the dead of summer is the best way to meet the will of the people.