
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 12, 1994                   TAG: 9411140074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

VOTER TURNOUT BEST IN 12 YEARS

Surprising many political forecasters, an estimated 38.7 percent of eligible American voters went to the polls Tuesday, highest turnout in a non-presidential election since the recession year of 1982.

Based on final but still-incomplete returns, an estimated 75 million people cast ballots Tuesday - and 112.4 million failed to vote - for a 2.2 percent increase over the 1990 midterm election participation rate, according to a survey released Friday by the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate.

``There was a more actively angry electorate, at least in many states, than I had expected. This overcame the illusion of the campaign that people were so disaffected that they would stay home,'' said Curtis B. Gans, the committee director.

The national turnout was boosted by massive voting increases in Virginia, attributed in large part to the three-way Senate race, where nearly 41 percent of the electorate turned out (up 16.4 percent over 1990) and Tennessee, where 37.7 percent of eligible voters cast ballots (up 16.2 percent), Gans said. Both Tennessee senators and its governor faced elections. There were also substantial increases in some of the most populous states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, Maryland and Florida.

Virginia's 40.9 percent turnout and the District of Columbia's 38.5 percent set records. In Maryland, 36.3 percent of voters went to the polls.

South Dakota reported the highest turnout at 59.6 percent, followed by Wyoming at 58.6 percent. The lowest turnout was in Georgia, where only 29.9 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

The committee's analysis said the turnout was up in all regions of the country except New England and the Midwest farm belt. In spite of the overall pattern of more voters, turnout declined in several states with highly competitive elections, including Alabama, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Although the counting of absentee ballots in California was not complete when the committee drafted its report, Gans said he expects only ``very minor'' voting increases in the nation's most populous state.

by CNB