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Voter turnout up this Election Day
Lori Wolfe/The Herald-Dispatch campaigns for Sen. Barack Obama along Hal Greer Blvd., near the A. D. Lewis Center Tuesday, May 13, 2008, in Huntington.
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HUNTINGTON -- Nearly 1,100 more Cabell County voters went to the polls on Tuesday than in the last presidential primary election, officials said Tuesday night.
Total voter turnout in Cabell County was 23,768, not including provisional ballots, an increase of 1,061 voters since 2004.
Cabell County Clerk Karen Cole said she was satisfied with the percentage of registered voters who turned out for the election, 41.45 percent, but had hoped she could 50 percent.
"Registration is not the key; getting the voters interested in the political process and in the candidates is the key," Cole said. "It is now up to the candidates to get the voters interested in what they have to say."
Still, a steady stream of voters made their way to the polls Tuesday for the West Virginia primary election, both to improve their country and communities and to exercise their American rights, they said.
"It's busier than any other year, and I've been doing this 12 years. A lot of young people, too, this time," said Will Gibbs, a poll worker at the Veterans Memorial Field House on Tuesday. "I think it's because a lot (of current issues) have to do with students -- financial aid and gas prices for commuters."
Wayne County Clerk Bob Pasley said he was happy to have a higher turnout than he initially expected, according to early voting numbers. The total percentage of voter turnout in Wayne County was 47.65 percent-- six percentage points higher than the last presidential primary in 2004.
Pasley attributed the increased turnout to "good local races, the presidential race and beautiful weather."
There's also the fact that in this primary election, West Virginia's independent voters were invited to vote on the Democratic ticket. In years past, they've only been invited to vote on the Republican ticket.
"It's good that we have a choice, not just on the Republican side," said Daphne Birchfield of Huntington. Although the media blitz can be overwhelming about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, "this person is going to be running our country, so you have to choose who you think is right," Birchfield said.
Cole said voting was steady throughout most of the county's precincts Tuesday, though some had much heavier turnout than others.
There was a line when the polls opened at 6:30 a.m. in the Fairfield community, said Liynaa Burrell, a Marshall student and poll worker at the A.D. Lewis Community Center. Ernestine Parker voted at the center Tuesday with her husband, not because it was a high-interest election but simply to make a difference, she said.
"We vote all the time for the progress of our community and the whole world -- for things to be better," she said.
Voters seemed pretty "enthused and interested" about this primary election, said Freda Crockett, a poll worker at Vinson Middle School in Wayne County.
"I think it's the American dream to vote," said voter Beulah "Boots" Blain of Westmoreland. "If you don't vote, you have no dreams to build on and nothing to look forward to. Whether it goes your way or not, it's something you have."
The Democratic presidential race was the main attraction at the polls for voter Kimberly Becher of Culloden, who had no qualms about expressing her support for Obama on Tuesday.
"I feel like it's a really important election," said Becher, a medical student at Marshall. "Normally, the candidates are locked in by now, and they're not this time. It's exciting to vote when you think it's going to matter."
K. Slone of Guyandotte cast a vote for Clinton.
"I always liked (Bill) Clinton, when he was elected," she said. "If Hillary was elected, we'd have two presidents for one."
Before Tuesday, about 3,065 voters turned out for early voting, which is very low, Cole said.
"Apparently, it was that way all over the state," she said. "I don't know if gas prices have anything to do with it, if people don't want to travel down here, or the presidential race has anything to do with it. Maybe people wanted to see how the elections took place (in other states) between the two Democratic candidates."
Also, because there are a lot of Republican candidates who are uncontested in the primary, perhaps fewer Republicans turned out, Cole said.
