In the May primary, only 14 percent of registered voters actually cast ballots. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant complained that it was the worst turnout in at least half a century.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia has 1.8 million people, of whom more than 1.4 million are voting-age adults. Thanks to repeated registration drives, more than 1.2 million are signed up to vote (roughly 677,000 Democrats, 355,000 Republicans, 170,000 independents, 1,000 Mountain Party members and 15,000 "other.")
On paper, it looks like the Mountain State is a beehive of democracy -- but reality is sadly different. The vast majority of West Virginia adults don't bother to learn the issues, know the candidates and go to election polls.
In the May primary, only 14 percent of registered voters actually cast ballots. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant complained that it was the worst turnout in at least half a century.
But in Saturday's special U.S. Senate primary, figures were still worse. Only 12 percent of those registered went to the polls. Counting unregistered adults, the turnout was merely about 10 percent of eligible West Virginians.
Horrible. Ninety percent of residents don't care who represents this state in the U.S. Senate -- and maybe don't know who's running. They forfeited their right to participate in democracy, the essence of America.
Of course, turnout is somewhat better in hotly contested presidential elections. But for now, it's depressing that West Virginia has only a 10 percent democracy.
"Voting is a civic sacrament," former Notre Dame University President Theodore Hesburgh said. President Grover Cleveland called it a "public trust." And President Jimmy Carter summed up:
"The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself -- always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity."
How could nine-tenths of West Virginians shrug off their opportunity to join in the great adventure of deciding the future of their state and nation? Their lack of interest is disheartening.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia has 1.8 million people, of whom more than 1.4 million are voting-age adults. Thanks to repeated registration drives, more than 1.2 million are signed up to vote (roughly 677,000 Democrats, 355,000 Republicans, 170,000 independents, 1,000 Mountain Party members and 15,000 "other.")
On paper, it looks like the Mountain State is a beehive of democracy -- but reality is sadly different. The vast majority of West Virginia adults don't bother to learn the issues, know the candidates and go to election polls.
In the May primary, only 14 percent of registered voters actually cast ballots. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant complained that it was the worst turnout in at least half a century.
But in Saturday's special U.S. Senate primary, figures were still worse. Only 12 percent of those registered went to the polls. Counting unregistered adults, the turnout was merely about 10 percent of eligible West Virginians.
Horrible. Ninety percent of residents don't care who represents this state in the U.S. Senate -- and maybe don't know who's running. They forfeited their right to participate in democracy, the essence of America.
Of course, turnout is somewhat better in hotly contested presidential elections. But for now, it's depressing that West Virginia has only a 10 percent democracy.
"Voting is a civic sacrament," former Notre Dame University President Theodore Hesburgh said. President Grover Cleveland called it a "public trust." And President Jimmy Carter summed up:
"The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself -- always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity."
How could nine-tenths of West Virginians shrug off their opportunity to join in the great adventure of deciding the future of their state and nation? Their lack of interest is disheartening.
