Primary turnout could be shy of 20 percent in Michigan

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By Beth Boehne

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A limited, potentially frustrating Democratic ballot combined with a fresh blanket of snow held down Michigan voter turnout in Tuesday's presidential primary.

With about 75 percent of Michigan's voting precincts reporting, 1.1 million votes had been counted in the Republican and Democratic primaries. About 62 percent of them were in the GOP primary. It's possible less than 20 percent of Michigan's 7.14 million registered voters participated in the election.

"There were so many variables involved, from how early it was to the limited Democratic ballot," Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land said shortly after polls closed in most parts of the state. She estimated fewer than 1.5 million ballots were cast.

Republicans had a full ballot but Democratic primary voters had fewer choices, since Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only major candidate on the list. Barack Obama and John Edwards pulled their names from the Democratic ballot after Michigan broke national party rules by moving up its primary date.

An exit poll for The Associated Press and television networks indicated seven in 10 voters Tuesday opted to vote in the Republican primary. Among those who did vote on the Democratic side, more than three in four called themselves Democrats.

The primary date itself is unusual for Michigan, which typically doesn't hold presidential primaries until later in the election cycle. The date was moved up to try and give the state more say in the selection of presidential candidates, but the move at least temporarily cost Michigan all of its Democratic national convention delegates and half its Republican ones.

Up to six inches of fresh snow in some parts of the state might also have discouraged voters from showing up Tuesday.

A record 1.4 million voters participated in a Republican-only Michigan primary in 2000, a race that also drew Democrats and independents. In 2004, about 160,000 voted in the Democratic presidential party caucuses.

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Associated Press writers Corey Williams, David N. Goodman and Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.

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