New Jersey voters sitting out primary elections

A small percentage of New Jersey voters could decide who wins Tuesday's special Senate primary -- given the mid-summer timing of the election and a trend of fewer residents casting ballots in the past several primaries.

Four Democrats and two Republicans are are vying to be their party's nominee to fill the seat of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died in June. The winners will face off in a general election Oct. 16.

Many observers are expecting low voter turnout, because the elections will not be held during typical primary or general elections. If history is any guide, the percentage of registered voters would be low to begin with. Fewer than 12 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the past four senatorial primaries, according to the state Department of Elections.

The last time voter turnout reached more than 20 percent was during the 1988 primary contest, when voters also picked presidential nominees during the primary.

It's not just the percentage of total voters that has slid. Fewer New Jersey voters in general have shown up to the polls. The 2006 primary had the fewest number of ballots cast in a Senatorial primary since before the 1930s, when New Jersey's population was less than half of today's population.