The Sound of Indecision

Today I took an extended Sunday drive with my wife up to where a lot of metro Detroiters go when they want to get a taste of the country and remain with a half day's journey home--Michigan's thumb.

We drove up M-29 from Selfridge Air National Guard base through Algonac, Marine City, St.Clair and Marysville before passing through Port Huron and onto Lexington and Port Sanilac before turing around to head home.

It was a beautiful drive, and along the way I had the chance to chat with a few people about how they felt about the governor's race and their feeling about the state of the state in general.

While visiting the annual summer art fair in Lexington, I met two kinds of people: those who identified as Republicans or Democrats (whose preferences would presumably be obvious) and a much greater number who’s seemed ambivalent, indecisive or even apathetic.

This part struck me as strange. You'd think in a state suffering from perpetual recession including an eye-popping level of unemployment the locals would be burning a path to the polls.

Not so. In last Tuesday's primary, only about twenty three percent of registered Michigan voters got their butts to their local precinct. Experience suggests the turnout will be higher in the November general election, but still--just what's going on?

I'll be exploring that question in my next several posts.