Absentee voting is pumping up turnout
Dan Smith The Sacramento Bee Jan 7 2009Increasing voter turnout in California's last three presidential elections can be attributed in part to a huge increase in absentee voting, according to a Field Poll analysis of election data released Tuesday.
Here are the major findings of the analysis:
• After nearly 40 years of decline, the percentage of registered Californians casting ballots has increased in each of the last three presidential elections. On Nov. 4, 79.4 percent of registered voters cast ballots, the highest turnout since 1976.
• The upward trend of voters casting ballots by mail has accelerated. In 2000, 24.5 percent voted absentee, up from 20.2 percent in 1996. By 2004, 32.6 percent voted by mail, and 41.6 percent did so in the November election.
