DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060458

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   80 lines

VOTER TURNOUT ACROSS VIRGINIA FELL TO A RECORD LOW OF 48% TUESDAY

Turnout in Tuesday's statewide election indicates that citizen interest in politics is on the decline.

The 1.72 million ballots cast across the state accounted for less than 48 percent of the registered voters, a record low in modern Virginia history. In South Hampton Roads, the turnout was even lower: just 44 percent, according to unofficial numbers.

Because of the federal Motor Voter Act, which allows citizens to register to vote when they apply for driver's licenses, voter registration is at an all-time high.

But Tuesday's turnout shows that the new voters aren't going to the polls, experts said.

In four of the five South Hampton Roads cities, fewer voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election than in the 1993 gubernatorial election. Chesapeake was the only city to have more voters turn out.

Experts pointed to other reasons for the disappointing turnout.

Polls showing James S. Gilmore III way ahead, good economic times and staid news coverage of the race all played a role in keeping voters away from the polls, said Robert D. Holsworth, director of the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Marlene Glenn registered to vote last year at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Virginia Beach.

But the 33-year-old Virginia Beach native wasn't inspired to vote Tuesday. ``I was just being lazy,'' she said. Besides, ``I wasn't even interested in any one of the issues.''

Glenn was actually in the majority in Virginia Beach, where the turnout Tuesday was only 43 percent.

``We seem to be at a time in American life where politics doesn't engage people's attention,'' Holsworth said. ``Things are going relatively well. People are skeptical about what candidates often say and they claim not to be happy with the quality of campaigns. The media spends a significant amount of time scolding the candidate. It all adds up to an electorate that turns out at the level we saw'' Tuesday.

Turnout in the 1996 national elections showed the same trend. Registration was up nearly 200,000 in Virginia and more than 3 million nationwide, but fewer voters went to the polls than in 1992.

``In 36 years, we've had nearly a 30 percent decrease in national voter participation. And that's occurred as we've made voting easier,'' said Curtis Gans, director of the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate in Washington.

In 1993, 61 percent or nearly 1.8 million registered voters cast ballots in the governor's race, down from 66.5 percent in 1989.

Even in Portsmouth's Hodges Manor precinct, where voter turnout is always high, residents said they were voting more out of habit than because of any issues.

``I thought it was my civic duty,'' said Curtis O. Bass, a 62-year-old who has been casting his ballot for 40 years.``I didn't see a real big difference in the candidates.''

Portsmouth's voter turnout dropped from 59.9 percent in the 1993 governor's race to 48.3 percent Tuesday. Suffolk had the biggest drop, from more than 65.4 percent in 1993 to 46.2 percent this year. Turnout in Norfolk was 43.1 percent and Virginia Beach the turnout was at 43 percent. In Chesapeake 46.3 percent of registered voters went to the polls.

Virginia Beach registrar Marlene Hager said several election cycles will be needed to determine if the downward spiral will continue.

The motor voter act has meant an increase in workload and costs to local elections offices. Since motor voter was enacted 18 months ago, registration has increased in Hampton Roads cities between 20 percent and 30 percent.

``The workload has been tremendous,'' said Chesapeake registrar Virginia Garrett. ``We have many people that wouldn't have ordinarily registered, so we're delighted with the increases.''

Voting-rights activists who pushed for the law argued that having more potential voters will increase participation in the democratic process. MEMO: Rebecca Myers Cutchins, Toni Guagenti and The Associated Press

contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Chart

South Hampton Roads Voter Turnout KEYWORDS: ELECTION VOTER REGISTRATION

VOTING

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu