Did you vote in the general city election on Tuesday? If not, why? Was it the lack of contested races? The rain? Perhaps a busy schedule? Whatever the reason, the large majority of registered voters in Dallas County did not head to the polls this week.
According to numbers from the Dallas County Auditor’s office, which excludes voter turnout information from the city of Waukee, only 1,391 ballots were cast in the city election out of 11,778 registered voters in the county. That’s equal to just 11.8 percent.
Dawson had the highest voter turnout in the County with 20 ballots being cast, equal to about a quarter of those registered in the city. DeSoto had the lowest turnout rate with just 38 ballots being cast out, which is less than 6 percent of the total registered voter population.
13.2 percent of those registered in Perry exercised their right to vote, while just 9.5 percent of Adel voters cast a ballot.
As a comparison, 12.9 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the August 6th special election in regards to bond referendum for a new public safety and county office facility. In 2012 during the presidential election, 69.5 percent of voters exercised their right to vote.