1 in 4 registered voters cast ballots in county

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

About one out of every four registered voters in Clark County cast ballots in Tuesday's primary election, the same turnout recorded by county voters in the 2002 primary.

Unofficial totals reported by the Clark County Registrar of Voters included a turnout of 148,872 voters, 25.1 percent of the county's 593,912 registered voters.

In 2002, 132,698 -- 25 percent -- of the county's 516,950 registered voters cast ballots.

The Secretary of State's Office reported today the turnout for the Tuesday primary election hit 27.4 percent of the state's 946,205 registered voters.

That's slightly above the 27.2 percent that went to the polls in the 2002 primary election. But it is the lowest turnout in the six prior primary elections dating back to 1990.

And early voting is getting a big percentage of the turnout. The office reported that 104,308 persons voted early during the two-week period before the election. On election day 137,189 went to the polls. There were 18,607 absentee ballots.

Of the voters in this year's primary in Clark County, more than half voted early or by mail.

Early voters totaled 71,748, or 12.1 percent of registered voters. Mail-in absentee votes totaled 14,623, or 2.5 percent. The number of votes cast on Tuesday at polling places was 62,501, or 10.5 percent of registered voters.

Clark County had the lowest percentage turnout. Washoe County reported 27 percent of its 211,352 voters went to the polls.

Eureka County sent 82 percent of its 791 voters to the polls for the highest percentage Tuesday.