Voter
Turnout in Hanover--Tables
Table 1
Voter
Turnout Hanover
Town Meeting, 1980-2004
Table 1 A
Voter
Turnout Hanover
all elections 1999-2004
Table 2
Percentage of registered voters casting ballots at
Dresden School District budget votes
1991-2004
Table 3
Percentage of voters by town at Dresden
School
District annual meeting ballot voting 2001-2003
Report:Voter
Participation in Hanover
Online
page 1
- Update of
Voter Information
- Effect of Change in Population
- Effect
of Presidential Election Years
Online
page 2
- Effect
of Weather Conditions
- Checklist Purge
- Other Considerations
- Conclusions
Online
page 3
- A
Summary of Recommendations
Online
page 4
- Recommendations in detail: I The Need to Simplify
Online
page 5
- Recommendations
in detail: II The Need to Include and Communicate
Online
page 6
- Recommendations
in detail: III The Need to be Proactive
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Update of Voter Information
The
percentage of registered Hanover voters participating at annual Town
Meetings has declined dramatically in the last two decades (see Table 1
and Graph 1). According to recent reports in the Valley News, Norwich,
Lyme, and Claremont have far higher rates of voter turnout than
Hanover. The League has examined several possible reasons which are
discussed in following sections of this report.
In school matters, voting statistics for the Hanover
and Dresden School Districts are difficult to analyze. Attendance at
the Hanover School District meetings is low, and voting is done by show
of hands and is usually not counted. In ballot voting for the Dresden
School District (which includes Hanover and Norwich, VT), ballots from
both towns are usually combined before being counted, making it
impossible to distinguish Hanover voters from Norwich voters. Table 2
shows the combined percentages of voters from Hanover and Norwich for
the Dresden budget from 1991 to 2001.
(Note:
The Hanover School District manages one elementary school: the Bernice
A. Ray School. The Dresden School District administers the Richmond
Middle School and the Hanover High School by means of an interstate
compact in conjunction with Norwich, Vermont. For details see Hanover School Districts)
Effect of Change in Population
According
to census data, the population of Hanover has risen from 9,177 in 1990
to 10,850 in 2000. These figures include the Dartmouth student body.
The 1991 report states that Hanover "has a variable population which
includes many students, some of whom choose to have this as their legal
address and register to vote here. During this decade
the numbers of students has remained fairly stable…." Similarly,
between 1991 and 2001, the student population has not changed
significantly. As Dartmouth is currently in the midst of a major
building program for young faculty, however, the number of young adults
and school children may rise noticeably in the next few years.
Since
1990, Hanover has seen the creation of several retirement communities,
the largest of which has approximately 320 residents.
Effect of Presidential Election Years
According
to the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, as reported
in the New York Times (August 31, 2001), voting nation-wide in the 2000
presidential election was "at levels 25 percent below what turnout was
in the 1960’s, and each succeeding generation of young potential
citizens is voting at an ever lower rate."
In Hanover, the number of registered voters at the
time of the 1998 state election was 6,697, with 41% voting. Immediately
before the 2000 state and federal election, 6,678 were on the
checklist. 1,171 people registered that day, bringing the total number
of potential voters to 7,849. 67% of the total voted. The increases in
the number of registered voters at both elections over the number
registered in the same years at Town Meeting time is largely attributed
to Dartmouth student interest in the national contests. In addition,
the close competition for the national presidency probably let to a
higher turnout from all parts of the community.
|
League of Women Voters of
the
Upper Valley