Buncombe, Asheville hit historic low voter turnout on Super Tuesday. What happened?

ASHEVILLE - Along with the winners and losers, Super Tuesday's story for Buncombe County was one of historic lack of voter enthusiasm.

That likely came as races at the top of the ticket were seen as foregone conclusions, political experts said.

The 28.5% of 208,204 registered Buncombe voters who turned out March 6 was the lowest for a presidential primary year since 2004, according to county election services data. It was also only the second time in two decades that saw no growth in turnout.

"People were not activated in this primary season the way they normally are," said Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper.

But the county was not alone. Statewide turnout was 24%. And Buncombe, in fact, had higher voter participation than other large counties whose turnout was between 24% and 25%, including Wake, Guilford and Forsyth.

Mecklenburg, the second most populous county and home of Charlotte, saw a strikingly low share of registered voters cast ballots at 18.7%.

"Buncombe is unusually engaged civically, so we expect to see that," Cooper said. "It's not that Buncombe voters should be patted on the back. But they shouldn't be slapped on the back side like voters in Mecklenburg."

Buncombe Elections Director Corinne Duncan also noted the normally high voter interest. "While this is a departure from general presidential primaries in recent history, 2020 was a record turnout that is hard to compare against."

Both 2016 and 2020 saw high proportions of voters, with more than 42% of those registered participating in the primaries.

Many potential voters stayed home because there was little doubt about the races at the top of the ticket, with Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump cruising to easy victories in the nomination races for their parties, Cooper and other political observers said.

For the 11th District U.S. House race in Western North Carolina, incumbent Chuck Edwards won a lopsided race in the Republican primary. With only one Democratic candidate, state House Rep. Caleb Rudow, faced no primary opponent.

But farther down the ballot, including the Asheville City Council primary with eight candidates, there were more competitive contests.

"Unfortunately only party activists seem to take the local down ballot races seriously - another reason for low turnout," said Buncombe Democratic Chair Kathie Kline.

After people registered unaffiliated, Democrats make up the largest share of local voters at 35%. The Citizen Times reached out Doug Brown, chair of the county GOP, which makes up 22% of registered voters.

Kline said she believed voter interest in abortion, education and climate would generate much more enthusiasm in the Nov. 5 general election.

"We are expecting record turnout," she said.

Buncombe primary turnout history

Presidential election years

2024 - 28.5% of 208,204 registered voters.

2020 - 42.1% of 195,942 registered voters.

2016 - 42.2% of 186,159 registered voters. 

2012 - 39.3% of 179,215 registered voters

2008 - 38.29% of 164,564 registered voters

2004 - 12% of 137,703 registered voters.

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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.