THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 26, 1995 TAG: 9506260055
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Voter turnout rose slightly in almost every region of the country in November 1994, according to a new study..
The report by the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate also found that increasing numbers of voters registering as independents.
``What we are seeing is dealignment rather than realignment - a turning away from both major political parties,'' said Curtis Gans, the director of the nonpartisan, Washington-based group. ``The future trend is toward disengagement and nonparticipation.''
In 1994, when Republicans wrested control of the House and Senate from Democrats, 75,114,722 Americans voted, a turnout of just 38.8 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from 1990.
Looked at in terms of the population of eligible voters, Republicans won support of 19 percent, Democrats of 16.6 percent.
Turnout was up in every region except New England and the farm states. The rise was driven by hotly contested races in some areas, such as the battles for Senate seats in Tennessee and Virginia. Turnout increased substantially in many of the most populous states, including Florida, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, the report said.
But several states with tight or highly publicized races experienced declines in turnout, including Alabama, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts and Ohio.
The study was based on final registration and turnout reports from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and an analysis of a Census Bureau report on the 1994 election.
Republican turnout was up in every region, while Democratic turnout was down everywhere except the middle Atlantic states and the far West.
While the report predicted the South would continue to become more Republican, ``no similar realignment could be seen nationally in the 1994 vote.''
Republicans won the House vote in every region except New England, but their biggest margins over Democrats were mostly in GOP strongholds, the farming Midwest (by 9.1 percentage points), the Rocky Mountain states (by 8.8) and the Southwest (by 5.3).
Republicans won in the South, which traditionally has supported Democratic candidates, by 7.5 points.
Independent candidates can take heart in the registration figures.
Democratic registration has declined steadily since 1966, when it was 44.2 percent, to a new low of 31.5 percent in 1994. Republican registration has declined from 25 percent in 1966 to 22.6 percent in 1994.
Those registered as independents or with third parties have increased from 3.9 percent to 12.4 percent over the same period.
KEYWORDS: VOTING VOTER REGISTRATION by CNB