DECATUR – Voters who think their ballots don’t matter could be sorely mistaken in today’s primary election.
Mix the high number of candidates with the short campaign season and experts predict that any one candidate could struggle to receive the majority of voter support.
“Every vote is going to count for the candidate you might favor,” said Macon County Clerk Steve Bean.
With the primary date coming just one month after the holiday season, voters have had less than 30 days to acquaint themselves with the multiple candidates asking for their votes.
Republican voters must choose among seven gubernatorial candidates, six lieutenant governor candidates and six U.S. Senate candidates.
Democrats must choose among two candidates for governor, six candidates for lieutenant governor and five for the U.S. Senate.
“It’s going to create some kind of ambivalence or confusion for whom to vote for,” said Larry Klugman, political science professor at Richland Community College.
The results of today’s primary will lead Illinoisans into a general election season where stakes are high for politicians, and the issues are serious for voters.
Republicans are trying to capitalize on voter frustration with the current Democratic leadership. As voters try to choose the best people to deal with the state’s $13 billion deficit, Democrats could be poised to lose some of their seats to Republicans.
“I don’t know when I’ve seen a primary where the actual stakes are so high,” Klugman said.
Despite the importance of the election, he doesn’t expect a repeat of the high turnout during 2008 primary election.
“I believe it’s an extremely important primary and there should be a big turnout, but I don’t see it coming,” he said.
Based on early voters and absentee ballots, Bean said he expects 10 to 15 percent of the county’s 71,000 registered voters to participate in the primary.
“Which is a little disappointing because of the primary races statewide,” Bean said.
“If there aren’t a lot of votes down here, then it’s all the impact of the votes in Cook County and the northern part of the state.”
In 2006, Bean said just 8,600 Macon County residents voted in the primary.
Two years later during the 2008 primary, nearly 27,000 voters were motivated to cast their ballot because of the presidential election and the possibility of changing Decatur’s form of city government.
Bean said he expected this year’s local races including the county treasurer’s office and the 51<+>st Senate District to draw more voter attention, but they’re just not doing the trick this year.
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