Politicians look to untapped voter source
Politicians look to untapped voter source
Local election watcher comments on undecidedsKURT HAUGLIE DMG Writer and The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Call them the occasional voters.
They mean to take the time and go to the polls, but politics is an afterthought and they never get around to voting. These intermittent voters account for about one in five in the country, according to an Associated Press-Pew poll.
These voters share some attributes with more consistent voters. They have the same sense of duty and feel guilty when the election goes by and they didn’t vote. Those elements make them a bloc of untapped voters in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, when turnout is critical.
Other characteristics of these voters: They are less economically well-off than regular voters, less educated and definitely not as politically savvy.
Intermittent voters are less likely to be strong supporters of any party. Only 38 percent of intermittent voters say there is a great deal of difference in what the parties stand for, compared with 47 percent of regular voters.
‘‘I try to vote every time, but I’m more likely to know enough about a presidential election and I’m more likely to vote in a presidential election,’’ said Perry Marlette, a 24-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., woman working as a nanny. ‘‘I’m getting into a pattern of being a voter every time. I’m educating myself more.’’
The intermittent voter is less likely than a regular voter to talk politics with friends and family, and less likely to feel intensely about President Bush, Iraq or terrorism.
One such voter, Joe Beaudoin, a government worker from Monticello, Ky., said he’s becoming more dedicated to elections as he gets older.
Beaudoin, 27, has missed some elections because he was moving from one town to the next, but he’s gotten more serious ‘‘as maturity came along, after graduating from college, getting married, paying taxes and getting a job.’’
With voters far more likely to feel frustrated and angry this year than they were in late 2001, those recruiting voters on both sides are targeting the intermittent voter in what may be high turnout for a midterm election.
‘‘We are focusing more on voters who voted in 2004 but not in 2002,’’ said Karen Ackerman, political director of the AFL-CIO, which has committed more than $40 million to turning out the vote. ‘‘We’re putting more emphasis on why this election is important.’’
Mary Durfee, professor of political science and assistant provost at Michigan Tech University, said that other than income and education, regular voters often also come from families that are traditionally regular voters.
Durfee said politicians can get intermittent voters to the polls if they work at it.
“(Intermittent voters) are going to (vote) when they’re interested or they’ve been recruited,” she said. “This could be very influential if there’s a low voter turnout.”
Intermittent voters also tend to be middle of the road politically, which also bodes well for savvy politicians, Durfee said.
“They could actually be persuaded,” she said.
Durfee said some of the proposals on the Michigan ballot are important locally, particularly Proposal 2 which if approved by voters would amend the state Constitution to end affirmative action programs in state organizations, including hiring for universities.
Republicans are making plans to deal with a voter base that is less enthusiastic than Democratic-leaning voters. That extends to the intermittent voters, with intermittent Democratic voters inclined to say they’re more enthusiastic this year, by 44 percent to 38 percent, and Republicans who are intermittent voters saying they are less enthusiastic, by 36 percent to 28 percent.
The GOP will follow the same strategy it has used with success in the last two elections, said Michael DuHaime, political director of the Republican National Committee. Four years ago, the GOP turned out many of its intermittent voters using such techniques as carefully targeting potential voters, contacting them repeatedly and getting a commitment that they will vote.
The stakes for recruiting intermittent voters are high for both political parties. In 2002, about 40 percent of the voting age population, or about 77.5 million people, turned out to vote.
Just two years later, more than 122 million, or 62 percent, turned out in the presidential contest.
The parties’ focus on intermittent voters doesn’t mean they won’t spend time contacting the 35 percent who describe themselves as regular voters. Regular voters are more likely to be white, older, better educated and with higher incomes. They talk politics regularly with friends and family and at work.
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