Poll officers Louise Culbreth, Jean Wilson and Marie Holder, from left, total the ballots while at the Fort Oglethorpe City Hall on Nov. 4, 2014.Tuesday's election brought historic changes to the state's founding document and tossed Prohibition-era alcohol laws in cities across the state. But still, 124,457 Hamilton County voters were not enticed by the 2014 midterm ballot.
Unofficial turnout figures show 40 percent of the county's 207,625 voters cast ballots in the 2014 election. That means 83,168 residents spoke for all.
And that figure was nearly 2 percent lower than in 2010, the last midterm election.
Statewide turnout numbers were not available Tuesday, according to Blake Fontenay, a spokesman for Tennessee Secretary of State Tré Hargett.
But Hamilton County's figures were consistent with those in neighboring Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Meigs and McMinn counties. All were lower than 2010 figures, and none topped 40 percent.
Local Republican Party Chairman Tony Sanders thinks the lower turnout likely reflects voter apathy by Democrats. Since Tennessee is so red, he thinks Democrats sat out.
"I am surprised, because of the feeling that there were going to be a lot of changes with the Republicans taking over the [U.S.] Senate," Sanders said.
Local Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lee doesn't disagree, but he said the number of people who didn't vote was still a message.
"The election was really decided by the people who didn't vote," Lee said. "They are so disaffected with government."
Despite losses for Democrats nationwide, Lee said Tuesday's election could end up being good for the country.
"The one thing I heard today, which is what I hope to hear more of, is, 'Let's talk specifics.' Let's talk about specific problems with the Republicans and hear specific solutions. Then I think this could be a positive thing," Lee said.
But Vanderbilt University political science professor Bruce Oppenheimer said it's dicey to try to guess the no-shows' party alignments. Nothing on the ballot - not even constitutional amendments on abortion and income taxes - drove people to the polls, whatever their political leanings.
"I think it was probably worse all over the place. The ballot initiatives were not enough to drive up turnout. Without a meaningful race for the governor, and no real contest in the Senate race to speak of, and noncompetitive House races, there was just nothing high on the ballot," Oppenheimer said.
Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.