Voter Turnout

How to increase voter turnout: Add to the list of candidates "None of the Above." JACK FULBECK Covina

Former President Bill Clinton, stumping for Wendy Greuel in Los Angeles on Saturday, castigated the voter turnout in the mayoral primary as "ridiculous. " "We can't tolerate … the kind of low turnout you all have in these mayors' races," Clinton said of the 20.8% of registered voters who cast ballots in the March primary. "It's ridiculous. There are too many people in Los Angeles, of all ages, that have a big stake in the future. " The former president, who endorsed Greuel in March, lauded her resume as he spoke to scores of her supporters at Langer's Deli.

With a 24/7 news cycle focused heavily on politics, you'd think election day would bring out a bonanza of voters. With the exception of the 2008 presidential election, though, every polling place I've frequented has been a sleepy affair. On June 5, the California primary, there were five workers, plus me and my dog,  in the room. Pathetic. In its annual Ideas Report , the Atlantic proposes a solution: To increase voter turnout, abolish the secret ballot , writes Sasha Issenberg, who argues for a return to the public process we saw during the United States' first century.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Casting his vote Sunday in a Caracas slum, interim Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that if he wins Sunday's election he is prepared to reestablish relations with the United States “in terms of equality and respect.” "There are always problems because they are always conspiring," Maduro said of the U.S. During his campaign to succeed the late President Hugo Chavez, Maduro accused the U.S. of conspiring with...

JERUSALEM -  A stronger-than-expected voter turnout in Israel's parliamentary elections Tuesday lifted hopes of center-left parties, who expect to be the beneficiary of the trend. As of 6 p.m., 55.5% of eligible voters had cast their ballots, up about five percentage points from 2009, election officials said. Much of the higher turnout appeared to be taking place in secular communities, such as Tel Aviv, and in Arab cities, where turnout is historically low. It was unclear whether the trends would continue or if Israelis were simply voting earlier in the day than usual, taking advantage of the national election day holiday and spring-like weather.

Voters born in California are less likely to participate in the state's elections than voters born elsewhere who now live in the Golden State, according to a report by Political Data Inc. that surprised its author. Some 73% of California-born voters cast a ballot in the November 2012 election, while turnout was more than 80% for California voters born in 30 other states, including New York, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to Political Data Inc., which analyses voter information for campaigns.

The final vote tally from the primary election is in, and the percentage of Los Angeles residents who cast ballots ticked up slightly to 20.8%. The final count, still low compared with recent contested mayoral primaries, did not change the results in any of the city contests on the February ballot. Tuesday provided a fresh reminder of the challenges that the next mayor will face. The City Council agreed to study a controversial set of budget-slashing proposals, including eliminating the shortened workweek for police officers and getting rid of proposed worker raises.

Re "16% turnout restarts debate," March 7 The low voter turnout for the city of Los Angeles' primary Tuesday was astonishing and revolting. I am one of the few who showed up at the polls, and I found myself alone in a cavernous room (unless you count my dog). I always vote; if the only contest on the ballot was for hall monitor, I would still vote. But here's one of the problems: For at least two weeks before election day, I was inundated with robo-calls to the point that I simply stopped answering the phone.

Los Angeles held an election Tuesday and lots of people didn't bother showing up. One city leader called the initial turnout figure, just over 16%, "awful" and "embarrassing. " The latest demonstration of electorate disengagement renewed discussions about rescheduling L.A.'s elections to coincide with higher-profile state or national races. The total voter participation won't be known until large numbers of mail-in and provisional ballots are counted. According to a Times analysis, that could drive final turnout for the election close to 20%, potentially changing the outcome of some City Council races.

In the last three elections for mayor of Los Angeles, voter turnout has ranged from 18% to 38%. And that's of registered voters. Nice work, loafers. Of course, the perennial no-shows had their reasons for not voting. Didn't like any of the candidates. Didn't know anything about any of them. Nothing ever changes anyway. Went to the beach. Couldn't care less, blah, blah, blah. This time around, if you're thinking you might sacrifice two minutes of your day and cast a ballot on Tuesday - but you're still not sure - I'm going to offer up a little inspiration.

JERUSALEM -  A stronger-than-expected voter turnout in Israel's parliamentary elections Tuesday lifted hopes of center-left parties, who expect to be the beneficiary of the trend. As of 6 p.m., 55.5% of eligible voters had cast their ballots, up about five percentage points from 2009, election officials said. Much of the higher turnout appeared to be taking place in secular communities, such as Tel Aviv, and in Arab cities, where turnout is historically low. It was unclear whether the trends would continue or if Israelis were simply voting earlier in the day than usual, taking advantage of the national election day holiday and spring-like weather.

Despite often-voiced concerns about the effect of voter identification laws, black voter turnout remained high in 2012 and, for the first time, may have topped the rate for whites, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.   Four years ago, the rate of black voter turnout almost equaled that of whites, continuing a trend of a steady increase in black turnout rates that began in 1996. This year, with white turnout appearing to have dropped, black turnout seems very likely to have exceeded the white level, although definitive figures won't be available until the Census Bureau reports in a few months.

Los Angeles voters who cast ballots in last month's election were more supportive of a major overhaul of the city's pension system than in increasing the sales tax to boost city revenue, according to a survey conducted by Loyola Marymount University's Center for the Study of Los Angeles. Nearly 44% of voters surveyed backed a proposal by former Mayor Richard Riordan to transition city workers from fixed-benefit government pensions to 401(k)-style, investment-based retirement plans.