Tagged: partisanship

The increasing polarization of the political process in Utah and across the nation is the next issue identified by the Utah Foundation as part of its Utah Priorities Project.  In their open-ended survey, voters ranked partisan politics the 8th most important concern.

A former president who also served for many years in Congress once said, “Truth is the glue that holds government together.  Compromise is the oil that makes government go.”  Over the past several years, it has seemed at times that government was pretty low on that oil -- about ready to seize up.

Voter turnout in Utah has dropped dramatically in recent elections, and a new study by the Utah Foundation looks at some of the reasons why.

In the presidential election of 1992, 67% of Utah's registered voters took part, while only about 50% turned out in 2008.  A study by the non-partisan Utah Foundation suggests fewer close races and barriers to voter participation such as the state's closed Republican primary could be among the reasons.  Research director Morgan Lyon Cotti says the strident partisanship of recent years also plays a part.