Apathy high, votes low in Iowa City primary

Iowa City - Turnout was abysmal in Tuesday's Iowa City Council primary.

Only 1,872 people cast ballots, or 3.87 percent of eligible voters. That's the lowest number for an Iowa City primary recorded on the Johnson County Auditor's Office Web site.

Three University of Iowa undergraduate students were candidates, and they finished in the final three spots among the five candidates.

So it's not a surprise that turnout was especially bad in precincts in student-heavy areas. Just 11 people voted at the UI Main Library; 25 ballots were cast at the Quadrangle residence hall.

Dan Tallon and Jared Bazzell, two of the student candidates, told me they heard from some students who had trouble figuring out which precinct they were to vote at and were turned away when they went to the wrong place.

The Auditor's Office has a polling place look-up on its Web site. 

Jeff Shipley, the other student candidate, attributed the low turnout to only one person being eliminated and a “lack of drama.” He hopes things improve for the Nov. 3 election.

“I think a lot of the students just didn't even care,” he said. “We have four weeks to get students excited, to educate students, and to teach them why they should be involved in local politics.”

Of course, the low turnout is not just on students, who historically haven't taken much interest in local elections. Permanent residents shoulder most of the responsibility.

Only five of the 25 precincts – excluding early voting – had more than 100 voters. Forty-two ballots were cast at South East Junior High; 17 at West High.