Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, said the simple fact is people aren’t interested runoff elections. “People don’t take them seriously,” said Ball. “Look at the participation — that tells you what people think of runoffs.” He referred to the lack of interest in the state’s April 12 runoff elections. According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s website, there are 1.35 million registered voters, but during Tuesday’s runoff elections just over 65,000 people voted. “It’s sad that this happens, but people forget about runoff elections,” said political science expert Bill Stewart, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama. Stewart said most states don’t have runoff elections anymore because they draw a small percentage of voters. That was evident in the Shoals. Out of 108,168 registered voters in Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale counties, only 5,711 people voted in Tuesday’s runoff election.
“I’m disappointed that the turnout was as low as it was,” said Lauderdale County Probate Judge Will Motlow. “There were important races on the ballot. I wish we had more of an interest.”
Motlow said candidates work hard, spending money in the primary and then in the runoff. He said you would think “there would be enough interest to get people out and voting.”
Vote totals in the runoffs indicate in Colbert County, out of 36 boxes there were eight that had less than 10 total votes. In two of those, only one person voted, in two others no one voted.
Full Article: Runoffs consume time, money for low turnout – TimesDaily: News.