Montville Primary Turnout Nearly Same as State Percentage

More Republicans than Democrats came out to vote last week in Connecticut’s statewide primaries.

A total of 113,538 registered Republicans cast ballots in last week’s primaries and with 409,723 active registered Republicans in the state, turnout for Republicans in the primary was 27.7 percent statewide, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill reported Thursday.

Democrats lagged behind the GOP in the primary turnout. With 138,004 registered Democrats cast ballots in the primary, out of a total of 717,241 active registered Democrats in the state. That represents a turnout of 19.2 percent statewide for Democrats.

The turnout figures are slightly below normal for Democrats and slightly above normal for Republicans in a statewide primary, Merrill said in a press release she issued Thursday on the turnout figures.

“Democrats and Republicans throughout Connecticut had their voices heard and made a choice about who will represent their parties on the ballot in November,” Merrill said. “As we start down the road to the general election, I urge all those who are eligible to register to vote, research the candidates, and come out on November 6 to cast a ballot. Since Connecticut’s primaries moved to August, a higher percentage of party members have shown up to vote. Still, the names on the ballot and current events drive turnout more than the date of the election; 2006 was a perfect example of this.”

Turnout in Montville virtually mirrored the statewide results; in Montville the total turnout was 22.4 percent, a tenth of a point higher than the state average of 22.3 percent. And like the state, more Republicans came out to vote than Democrats. Just over 20 percent of Democrats voted in the primary compared to nearly 26 percent of Republicans. 

In August of 2010 Democrats and Republicans in Connecticut held gubernatorial primaries and those contests saw 24.88 percent of Democrats turn out for the primary compared to 29.76 of Republicans, Merrill reported.