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About The Mill City enterprise. (Mill City, Or.) 1949-1998 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1972)
3—The Mill City Enterprise, Thursday, April 20, 1972 Salem Scene by Jack 2imm«rm»n election OFFICIALS GLIM ABOUT VOTER REGISTRATION Saturday, voter registration de.'idiine is still a few days away and most Oregon elec tion officials already are ex pressing disappointment in prospects for a big turnout at the polls May 23. No one expects the May Pri mary to be a -'ho-hum” thing But despite factors such as a record number of candidates, the elusive youth vote and the fact it’s a presidential year few expect a significant surge of people casting ballots. Asst Sec. of State Jack Thompson points out voter participation in Oregon and across the nation—is gradually declining from a percentage standpoint. He doesn’t see ar.y. thing in the immediate future that would reverse tl » trend. “Fewer people are partici pating in government," he said And indicated voter apathy may be increasing faster than anything else. Thompson ana his boss, Sec. of State Clay Myers, are wil ling to bet voter registration v ill be high for the May Pri mary -and possibly even set a new Oregon record But they see few indications tnat cur rent reaaons for increased vot er participation are bearing real fruit. Of particular disappointment to those closest to the issue Is the absence of a discernible outpouring of registrations by newly enfranchised young peo ple And trends in this state seem to be holding up nation wide. Not all Oregon election ad ministrators share Thompson’s pessimism, however. In the state's population center, Mult nomah County Director of Elections John Weldon is greatly impressed by prelimin ary registration figures — es pecially among 18-to20 year- olds. “Of course," he said. “I’m noted for being overly opti mistic.” And election people usually are because they’re so close to the fact the ballot box is the key to the poitical sys tem's success. Weldon figures more than half of the now-enfranchised young are registering. Prelim inary figures show total Mult nomah County registration may surpass 320,000 — an ap preciable gain over the record 299,106 registered prior to the 1970 off-year Primary. And, as Weldon pointed out, intensive voter registration campaigns in the metropolitan area really just got started over the week end. Thompson—without required preliminary reports from elec tion officials in the state’s 36 counties—likely is basing his more conservative beliefs on two factors. While Oregon re. cords showed an all-time high of 1,018,017 regis’ered voters for the 1970 Primary, the total dipped to 955,459 during the General Election that year. This decrease is due to the fact voter rolls are purged following Primaries and weed ing out the so-called “dead wood” is an indication Primary figures always are somewhat out of proportion with reality. Thompson's other indicator may tie total registration fig ures involving the special cig- aret tax election conducted on January 18 this year. At that time statewide registration sood at 1,030,367, hardly more than 12.000 greater than the 1970 Primary total. “Sure, there’ll be an increase in registrations (for the Prim ary),” Thompson averred. But he maintained it will occur principally from the fact there are more people—and the fig ures likely won’t signal a sig nificant increase in voter par ticipation. Studying Oregon voter ac tivity is fascinating and of in tense interest to those close to the political scene. In the past two decades the state has switched from narrowly "Re publican” to a positive Demo crat registration majority. GOP voters always turn out in greater numbers at the polls on a percentage basis. And Demos have a tendency to vote Republican in large numbers when General Election chips are down. The latter fact is obvious when one considers a prepond erance of the state’s holders of major office are members of the minority party. When it comes to reading the effectiveness of Oregon’s Primary Election, it’s just as absorbing to note the relative infallibility of voters to bal lot their party's national pre sidential choice. And only twice since 1932 has this state’s electorate erred in masting ma- jority ballots during General Elections • the actual presi dential winner. If current registratii n fig ures have real significance— and if early youth registra tion tallies are lumped into the same category — one surely must surmise the Democratic majority in Oregon is enjoy ing a steady increase. Tn Multnomah County, where a third of the state’s voters reside for instance, the dimaritv between mainr party registrations definitely is growing Democrat registra tions held a 60.000-voter edge over Republicans at the 1970 Primary. That margin dipped to 56.000 during the General Election that year but bounced back to a 64,000-voter major ity during January’s special election. And late last week Weldon reported 72,000 more Democrats than Republicans registered in his county. At the same time he had tallied the 18-29 year-old regis tration. With 16,554 new young voters registered, the early trend is to sign up as Independ ents had withered and Demo crats held a big lead l0.966 to 3,868 GOPs. By coalition or sheer weight of numbers. Republicans tra- ditionaly have ruled the Ore gon Statehouse Democrats this year, as seldom before, are pre dicting a change If Weldon’s preliminary count holds up and if it's indicative of what’s hap pening throughout the state, their prediction just might come true. QURN£WSHB£R MV£RTISING IS YOUR B£S£ BUYING GU/O£ Merchants Using The Enterprise Are inviting you to visit their stores. Why not take advantage of this invitation and SAVE MONEY. * * ♦ ★ ★ ★ We Invite You to Save Save 70c a year By Subscribing to JACK WILLIAM FLOOR Funeral services were held Tuesday, April 18, in Fairfield, California, for Jack William Flook. age 54. of 1041 Marilyn Street, Fairfield- Mr. Flook died Friday, April 14, of a heart ailment. He was a native of Oregon and a retired Air Force Senior Master Sargeant. Surviving are his widow Dorothy of Fairfield, one son, George, and one daughter, Mrs. Pamela Shin. His mother, Mrs Sara Flook and one broth- ther, George, both of Mill City, one sister, Mrs. Gwendolyn Johnson of Eugene and one grandchild. Interment was in Rockville Cemetery at Fairfield with Bryan-Braker Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. MEHAMA The Enterprise at only $4«50 a year It Costs You iO0 a Copy * ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Get The Enterprise by Mail The Enterprise covers the local news Mrx. John Tertem Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Norton returned home Wednesday, April 12, from a trip to Reno and Sparks They visited with her nephew, Tom Bolter at Reno, ana with her brother-in- law and sister, Mr. and Mrs Merle Tompkins, and mother, Mrs. Gussie May, at Sparks. Sp/4 Roiland Longfellow ar rived April 12 for a leave at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Longfellow. He has just finished a tour of duty in Vietnam and will be reporting to Ft. Lewis, when his leave is over. Mr. and Mrs Charles Dun bar of Senior Estates were recent guests at the home of Mrs. Jack Ryland. Mrs. Ry land spent the past weekend at the Dunbar home. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Monroe returned home Friday after spending several days at Reno. It snowed most of the time they were there but they had good weather on the way home. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Teet ers we’u to Seattle Friday ev ening and were guests during the weekend of their sons, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Teeters and Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Teeters. They drove to Port Angelos on Saturday. If the number following your name on The En terprise label reads 4-72 it's time to send a check for renewal. VIKINGS RETREAT Sauna and Massage Wanted: Your Body Female Masseuses SEE US AT 4705 Liberty Rd. S E. Salem, Oregon Phone 581-9671 10 a.m.-l a m. 7 Days Weekly of the communities of the Canyon. Keep Informed on the Events Each Week. The Mill City Enterprise
