Voters May Have Case Of Election Fatigue

D.C. Democratic Party Chair Anita Bonds said the low voter turnout in the city's primary Tuesday should trigger debate about how the District holds elections.

"I'm beginning to be worried that we're having too many elections in an election year," she said.

Turnout for the Democrat-dominated city was high during the presidential primary in February and probably will be for the general election, she said.

If people wanted to avoid election fatigue, Bonds said, Tuesday's election was the one to skip, at least in the Democratic races. The Democratic state and national committees also take up a lot of room on the ballot, she said.

"People are very confused, and I wonder what the cost is to taxpayers," Bonds said.

Mara Works GOP in Precinct 8

It was a slow day in Precinct 8, "one of the slowest I've seen in eight years," said Erik Gaull, who was handing out fliers Tuesday at a recreation center in Northwest for the state Democratic committee.

There were the usual retirees, whom workers greeted by name. "How's the garden club? How are the grandchildren?" they asked each other.

But the precinct was fertile ground for D.C. Council candidate Patrick Mara, the GOP challenger of incumbent Carol Schwartz (R-At Large). It's one of the city's most heavily Republican areas. "This is where a lot of the Republicans are," Mara said. "I've knocked on most of their doors, two times even."

Mara used Gaull to screen potential voters.

If they refused Gaull's literature about Democratic candidates, Mara stepped in. If Gaull knew them, he helped Mara out.

"Ah, Harry and Alma Gates," Gaull said, as he watched a couple walk toward the polling station. "Democrats," he said out of one side of his mouth. Mara left them alone.

But Alma Gates, a former neighborhood advisory commissioner, coached Mara a bit as she walked past: "You should say, 'Thank you for voting.' "