Lower voter turnout expected in New Hampshire primaries

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Jan 2024 21:31

Joe Biden reportedly skipped the primaries due to a scheduling conflict between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and local officials.

Kara Simard, left, votes with her daughter, Violet, 5, in the New Hampshire presidential primary at a polling site in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 (AP)

The chairman of Ward 4 in the city of Concord John Williams informed Sputnik on Tuesday that voter turnout in the primary for presidential candidates in the US state of New Hampshire is expected to be lower than initially predicted.

"The [New Hampshire] Secretary of State was predicting somewhere around 40-50% turnout. The numbers we are having right now show maybe a slightly lower trajectory than that for today's election," Williams said.

Williams pointed out that it is currently challenging to determine which party is exhibiting greater voter activity.

"So at this point in time, it's a little hard to tell…," Williams said. "However, I can say just by observing the check-in process here, I think so far, we've had an equal balance between Democratic ballots and also Republican ballots being taken."

Williams did not comment on the reaction of voters following the decision of US President Joe Biden to skip the primaries in New Hampshire. He noted that voters always have the option to choose any person they prefer by writing their name into the ballot.

On January 23, both Republicans and Democrats are scheduled to conduct their primaries in New Hampshire.

Biden will not be listed on the state's ballot alongside the other 21 candidates due to a scheduling conflict between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and local officials. These officials argue that state law mandates holding primaries at least seven days before any other state and not on February 6 or three days after South Carolina's primary.

Majority of voters 'not at all enthusiastic'

The results of a poll conducted by Decision Desk HQ/NewsNation from January 16-18 with 1,000 registered voters showed that around 59 percent of registered voters are “not too enthusiastic” or “not at all enthusiastic” about a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

The other 41 percent stated that they are “very enthusiastic” or “somewhat enthusiastic” about the rematch, according to The Hill.

According to election returns from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill, Trump won the Iowa caucuses last week, earning about 30 percent more of the vote than the next candidate, Ron DeSantis, in the Hawkeye State.

"I don’t think Iowa means anything. The president got 50-some-thousand votes, the lowest number of votes anybody who’s won got. You know, this idea that he’s going to run away — he can think anyway he wants, let him make that judgment," Biden commented.

Today, the battle for the GOP presidential nomination heads to New Hampshire where Trump is also in the lead by 11.7 points over Nikki Haley, according to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill.

When voters were asked about who they think is going to win in this year's match between Trump and Biden, about 43 percent said Trump would win, while around 33 percent believed it's going to be Biden. In addition, around 7 percent voted that “someone else” would win, and the remaining 17 percent said they were “not sure” about who would win.