Democrats' surge helps shatter turnout record in Arizona's primary election
A swell in enthusiasm among Democrats led Arizona voters last month to shatter the state's previous record for turnout in an August primary election.
More than 33 percent of registered voters, or more than 1.2 million people, cast a ballot in the Aug. 28 primary, according to final results from the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
Turnout far exceeded the state's previous record set in 2010, when about 30 percent of voters cast a ballot in a Republican wave year.
This year, Democrats are largely driving the increase in voter participation. About 147,000 more Democrats cast a ballot in last month than in the 2016 primary contest, state officials said.
Republicans exceeded their 2016 turnout by 64,000 voters.
Democrats said the upswing is due to several factors, including opposition to Republican President Donald Trump and support for #RedForEd, the movement to increase teacher pay and funding for Arizona schools.
Steven Slugocki, Maricopa County Democratic Party chairman, said those sentiments, combined with a flood of new candidates in contested primary fights, drew first-time voters.
“If there’s one good thing that came from this presidency, it’s that there are people getting involved in the process for the first time ever," he said.
There are still more GOP voters in the state, but Democrats narrowed the statewide gap in voter turnout between the parties to 12 percent — its lowest level since 1994.
Republicans cast about 56 percent of ballots in the primary, compared with 44 percent for Democrats.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/09/11/arizona-democrats-surge-shatter-state-voter-turnout-record-primary-election/1268709002/
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