So Tuesday saw some primary elections across the country. Now, primary turnout is traditionally pretty low. In Virginia, however, voter turnout reached embarassing lows -- only 3% of eligible voters statewide went to the polls to decide which Democrat would face Republican Senator George Allen in November. Three percent!
Only 49 people in Norton bothered to cast a ballot for who will challenge Sen. George Allen this fall.
That was the lowest turnout of any jurisdiction in the commonwealth. Pretty much everyone else in this city of 4,000 was over at the Best Friend Festival, a week-long celebration featuring bubble-gum-blowing, watermelon-seed-spitting and limbo contests. That evening, the festival drew 2,000 people to express their fundamental right to karaoke.
Election? "I heard nobody mention it," says Joyce Payne, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the annual festival. "I'm sure it was important to people who are very concerned about politics." If you can find such a person.
This Washington Post column has more details on the race, including the interesting dichotomy between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state, as well as the implications of such low turnout for the campaigns involved. Check it out if you're interested. Which, if you're in Virginia, will probably only be about 3% of you.
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