Election goes smoothly

Talk about it

The 2008 election went exactly the way an election should – with high voter turnout and few problems.

In Douglas County anyway, it was that way, according to Vicki Doehling, Douglas County elections administrator.

“It went smoothly. We had a large voter turnout and no problems,” she said. “The lines were consistent, but not backed up.”

Although she said the county is still “crunching numbers,” she doesn’t anticipate any change in any of the local races.

The total number of residents who turned out to vote was 21,012 – 582 more than the 20,430 voters in the 2004 presidential election.

Sometimes, statistics can be misleading, Doehling noted, because this year there was an 88 percent voter turnout, whereas in 2004, the percentage of voters who cast their ballots was about 96 percent.

It all depends, though, on the number of new registered voters. In 2004, new registered voters made up nearly 17 percent of the voters in the county. This year, however, new voters accounted for about 14 percent of the total.

So, statistically, Douglas County had a higher voter turnout than four years ago, but percentage-wise, it was lower.

Regardless of the statistics, Doehling deemed the 2008 election in Douglas County a success.

“It really went like it should; with a high number of voters and low number of problems,” she said.

Doehling also mentioned that the auditor’s office is grateful to all the election judges throughout Douglas County for their efforts in helping to make this election a successful one.

“It takes a lot of dedicated people out on the front lines at the polls to make it all happen and we couldn’t do it without them,” she concluded.

Tags: douglas, county, general, election, turnout