The primary and runoff elections may not answer who will win Nov. 5, but it does tell one thing: People are not voting.

In the primary elections Aug. 27, around 350,000 Democrats and more than 200,000 Republicans voted. The numbers total less than one-third the number of registered Democrats and Republicans turning out for the primaries in the state. Chris Kannady, Republican candidate for the state House 44 district which encompasses OU, said people do not vote when it is not a presidential election.

"There just is not as much publicity for the smaller elections," Kannady said.

For the 2000 presidential elections, 1,234,229 Oklahomans cast their ballot for president, out of 2,223,602 voters in the state. The number of registered voters dropped to 2,008,036 in January this year. State Rep. Bill Nations, D-Norman, and incumbent for district 44, said some people do not have an interest in voting.

"That's the worst thing they can do," Nations said. He added that voter turnout is worse in city elections.

"The municipal elections affect more of their daily lives than state and national elections."

The solution to the problem, both candidates said, is to go out and campaign. Kannady said the midterm elections, the elections when the president is not elected but the U.S. representatives are, can be the best time for grassroots campaigns.

"Campaigns have lost touch with voters," Kannady said. "This is the time when people need to go out and knock on doors and contact the voters."

Nations said letting people know who the candidates are is the best way for people to know an election is coming. Some states hold gubernatorial elections during the midterm elections to generate more interest. Oklahoma is one of 35 states holding gubernatorial elections this year.

"Part of that helps generate interest," Nations said. "When you have an issue that's controversial, people will go out and vote."

This year could provide help for voters turning out with the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, said Darryl Roberts, Democratic candidate for Oklahoma's 4th U.S. House District.

"What we're looking for is maximized turnout," Roberts said. "We think it will come from the top on down."

Kannady said this year's elections will see the kind of attention usually associated with a presidential race.

However, all candidates will have a hard time bringing out voters. During the 1998 midterm elections, 859,713 Oklahomans of the more than 2 million voters in the state participated.

Kannady said the problem with low voter turnout is the lack of representation voters could end up with. He said the decisions that affect voters' lives are made by legislators every day.
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