lack of interest or concern
tommyMain Entry: ap·a·thy
Pronunciation: a-pə-thē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek apatheia, from apathēs without feeling, from a- + pathos emotion
Date: 1594
- 1: lack of feeling or emotion - impassiveness
- 2: lack of interest or concern - indifference
One out of six. Imagine any six people you know, and then consider that only one of those six voted in the primary election that ended yesterday:
Voter apathy in Florida plumbed new depths Tuesday. The 2008 primary election drew the lowest statewide voter turnout for a primary in at least 50 years, and perhaps the lowest ever. Incomplete returns late Tuesday showed 16.5 percent of voters cast a ballot.
Oh wait… That is the statewide turnout. You cared even less than that:
In Pinellas County, turnout was just over 12 percent, meaning just 75,000 out of 620,000 eligible voters showed up at the polls. That set a record for primaries. The previous record for the lowest primary vote in Pinellas was 13 percent.
In Pasco, just over 12 percent of the county’s 260,593 registered voters — or about 33,000 voters — cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary.
Hernando had the highest turnout in Tampa Bay, just under 15 percent.
And Hillsborough County?
Hillsborough’s turnout was even more abysmal — fewer than seven people out of 100 went to the polls.
Less than seven percent. That’s one in fifteen.
[Update 11:45am: Hillsborough SOE reports 10.08% voter turnout, 1 in 10.]
Don’t ever again ask: “How can someone like [insert name here] get elected?”
You have your answer: You really don’t give a rat’s ass.
Tags: apathy, election '08, indifference, pathetic, politics, tampa-bay, vote, voters, voting
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August 27th, 2008 at 10:36 am
It could be partially because there was nothing on that ballot that Republicans cared about. In Pinellas County, had I gone to the polls, there are two races I think I would have been able to select a candidate on. On those races, no one candidate seemed any better to me than any other one.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:48 am
@gregory - that was really the same in Hillsborough county as well, but there were like 4 judges and 2 school board seats everyone could have voted on.
True story - when I hit my poll place at 5:40ish yesterday, the nice elderly volunteer informs me that I am the first person to vote there that day with a J last name.
Wowsers.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Went to my precinct about 6:50 pm. Only precinct volunteers were there. Told me turnout had been rather low.
Apparently very low.
Don’t think school board and circuit court judges did much to drum up any attention. Voters didn’t know who they were. There were candidate signs outside for folks who weren’t even on my ballot for these county-wide elections.
I don’t think it’s at all indicative of what’s to come in November. Vote early.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
As Non Party person there was nothing but judges and school board seats to vote on.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Nothing but? Those races are more important than you give them credit for.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
they pimp the federal election for 3 years and the local election for 1 day… what do you expect?
August 27th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
True story: when I got to the church social hall that is my precinct polling place, there was one other man at the table signing in to vote. As I waited my turn, I overheard him tell the worker his name… Rob Townsend. “I’m on the ballot for property appraiser.”
And sure enough, it was him. He pulled out of the parking lot towing an enormous sign on a flatbed trailer with his name on it.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:05 am
drinklime,
You’re right. And I think that local incumbents & politicians are perfectly content with flying under the radar - helps to keep the status quo.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
[...] official letterhead. Johnson’s office said they want to encourage people to vote. I wonder if 10% turnout is considered a success over at SOE [...]
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:08 am
[...] might recall that just over 10% of registered voters took part in the August primaries in Hillsborough County. The final total was 66,150 of [...]
October 17th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
[...] letterhead. Johnson’s office said they simply want to encourage people to vote. I wonder if 10% turnout is considered a success over at SOE [...]
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[...] the low voter turnout for the primaries in Pinellas and Hillsborough, and suggested that you just don’t care about picking a leader. But was that a fair [...]