COUNTY LIFE
How does U.S. voter turnout compare to the world?
by Niall McCarthy, Nov 3, 2020, statista
Early voting in the U.S. has reached record levels and around 100 million votes have now been cast ahead of election day, according to the U.S. Elections Project, a nonpartisan website run by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald. That’s more than two-thirds the total number of votes cast in 2016 and it now looks highly likely that total voter turnout will be higher than the previous record set four years ago. This year’s historic trend has been driven by the coronavirus pandemic as well as surging voter enthusiasm.
As millions of Amerians prepare to cast their vote today, how does U.S. turnout compare with other countries around the world? While turnout among registered U.S. voters is traditionally high, it trails other nations when turnout is measured as a share of the voting-age population. 139 million people voted in the 2016 election when Donald Trump unexpectedly beat Hillary Clinton and turnout among the voting-age population was just under 56 percent, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
That is far behind Belgium which had a high turnout of 78 percent in its most recent election. However, it must be pointed out that the country has a system of compulsory voting, consistently resulting in high turnout figures. Many countries without such a system also experience high voting volumes with Sweden a notable example with 82 percent in 2018. South Korea also had an impressive turnout of 66.5 percent in its legislative elections earlier this year.
Give blood to save lives and at the time help the Nocona Volunteer Fire Department on March 24.
The blood drive will be from 1-6 p.m. in the H.J. Justin Building in downtown Nocona. First time donors generate $100 in funding and returning donors generate $15 per blood donation.
Go to the Nocona Firefighters Facebook page to scan the QR code to pick a time.
Gold-Burg High
Gold-Burg High School’s one-act play “Lady Precious Stream,” by S.I. Husung will be presented at district competition on March 19 in the Graham Auditorium.
The performance order will be Saint Jo, Prairie Valley, Universal Irving, Forestburg, Universal-Flower Mound, Gold-Burg and Bellevue. Plays begin at 10 a.m.
Nocona High
Nocona High School will be competing in the district one-act play competition on March 27 at Seymour High School.
Chrissy Shubert, theater arts teacher, said they will perform “Antigone in Munich: The Sophie Scholl Story,” by Claudia Haas produced by Stage Partners.
There will be a public performance of the play at 6 p.m. March 13 in the Nocona School Auditorium.
The plays will begin at 10 a.m. and Nocona is the sixth play of the day.
Prairie Valley High
Prairie Valley High School will present “Wild Strawberries” by Jerry Ayers for its University Interscholastic League one-act play contest on March 19 in Graham Memorial Auditorium.
PV will compete in 1A-District 18. The play is directed by Jesse Kincy. It is a comedic farce set in Italy during the Renaissance.
Read the full stories on these productions in the Thursday Bowie News.
Two marble panels collapsed and shattered at the Montague County Veteran’ Memorial on the courthouse square March 4 due to high winds.
This is the second time the monument has been damaged by high winds.
On Nov. 10, 2021 a panel fell over breaking into pieces and another panel shifted. It was a long process to get the slab replaced as the black marble came from India.
County Judge Kevin Benton recalls in 2021 there were delays first in finding the specific marble that was needed and then the first panel broke as it was being worked on and the artists had to start again.
Then the panel had to be shipped to its new home. It was an expensive proposition costing about $16,000. The panels are very large with the small ones weighing in at one ton.
Benton and Commissioner Bob Langford said Monday the wind deductible for the insurance is very high at $50,000. When that first panel was replaced county officials opted to have dowels placed in the panel that went into holes in the base to create a more secure attachment.
Langford said at that time they looked at possibly resetting the whole monument with dowels, but it was cost prohibitive at more than $30,000. He added the installers also indicated they really didn’t want to tackle something like that due to the possible liability if the panel is damaged.
Benton said they are talking to a company to see what is the best way forward with the repairs and what the costs could be to replace them.
Pictured: A precinct crew was removing the broken marble panels on Monday. (Photo by Barbara Green)
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