People usually pay less attention to elections during primaries, but with Fresno County’s results certified – is that really true for everyone?
Fresno’s voter turnout was relatively low for the most recent March election, at 30.84% of registered voters sending in their ballots – but it wasn’t the record low that some experts were predicting. That level of turnout was seen in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential primaries in Fresno County, as well.
Voter turnout nearly at record 20-year lows
Experts, from the Public Policy Institute of California, to James Kus, Fresno County’s registrar of voters, noted that Fresno’s voter turnout can at least be partially attributed to a lack of excitement and drama at the top of the ticket.
“I’m not a political scientist … but, I mean, I do know that when the top of the ticket contests are not exciting, that hurts turnout. The presidential contests, a lot of people feel, are decided. That could have hurt turnout,” Kus told Fresnoland in March.
Boomers showed up, Gen Z stayed home
If you’re over 65, then you’re pretty locked in, already – according to the data. Nearly 60% of baby boomers, or voters over age 65, voted in Fresno County’s March primary, compared to 13% for Gen Z voters under 35.
Low youth voter turnout in a primary election is typical, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California.
Reporting from the New York Times suggests that young people, in the most recent election cycle, have disengaged from politics for a variety of reasons: the war in Gaza, older, seemingly 'out of touch' candidates, and a lack of knowledge about what accomplishments President Biden or other political candidates have done for younger voters.
In Fresno, calls for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, led mostly by young people, have been met with a tepid response at best from local elected officials. Cries for rent control and other pushes for staving off a housing affordability crisis for young people have been met with silence or pilot projects that have yet to gain traction for the thousands of young people feeling the heat of rising living costs.
More affluent neighborhoods had higher turnout - mostly
We plotted voter turnout by voter precinct, and perhaps unsurprisingly - more affluent neighborhoods tended to have higher voter turnout than neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty. Turnout was highest in Fig Garden, and in neighborhoods along the San Joaquin River bluffs - and lowest in the neighborhoods near Calwa and Edison High.
Higher turnout in northwest Fresno neighborhoods could have been driven, at least partially, by a competitive primary for Fresno County's 2nd Supervisor District, where four candidates squared off to challenge incumbent Steve Brandau. Brandau will be facing Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld in a runoff in November.
Click on the interactive map below to explore turnout in your community.
White voters showed up in greater numbers
White voters tend to be overrepresented at the polls nationally, and Fresno County isn't exempt from that trend, with 41% of white voters turning in their ballots in the March primary - compared to 20% of Latino voters.
