Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said Thursday that more Republicans went to the polls Aug. 14 than Democrats.
Statewide voter turnout numbers show a total of 27.7 percent of Republicans went to the polls while 19.2 percent of Democrats exercised their right to vote. Since the state has more registered Democrats than Republicans that means 113,538 Republicans cast a ballot and 138,004 Democrats cast a ballot.
“These figures are slightly below normal for Democrats and slightly above normal for Republicans in a statewide primary,“ Merrill said in a statement. Last year 24.88 percent of Democrats and 29.76 percent of Republicans cast a ballot in the August primary for a gubernatorial candidate.
“Since Connecticut’s primaries moved to August, a higher percentage of party members have shown up to vote,” Merrill said. “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 the 5th Congressional District where there was a three-way primary on the Democratic side and a four-way primary on the Republican side seems to prove Merrill’s conclusion.
In the 5th, 23.5 percent of Democrats turned out and 32.3 percent of Republicans voted on Aug. 14. Total turnout in that congressional district was at least six percentage points higher than in the other four congressional districts. The only other primary for U.S. House was in the 2nd District where East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica beat Daria Novak to win the Republican nomination.