Tuesday Open Line


With the 2012 presidential election here, officials in both parties are looking over results of the congressional elections two years ago for any guidance for today’s balloting. One notable finding is that 7 percent of Hispanics voted — the highest percentage since the Census Bureau started collecting this information in 1974. Maine and Washington had voter turnouts greater than 55 percent, while fewer than 40 percent of eligible Texans went to the polls. The most common reason given for not voting — 27 percent — is that they were too busy, while 16 percent said their vote would not make a difference. And veterans outvoted nonveterans 57 to 44 percent. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.