What follows are the Nevada voter turnouts in presidential elections for the past 40 years. In order not to mislead, we have used percentage of those eligible to vote, not of those registered to vote. The source is the Federal Elections Commission.

1960: 58.3 percent

1964: 52.09 percent

1968: 54.3 percent

1972: 49.53 percent

1976: 44.17 percent

1980: 41.18 percent

1984: 41.48 percent

1988: 44.88 percent

1992: 49.98 percent

1996: 38.31 percent

2000: 43.8 percent

Dennis Myers was the news editor of the Reno News & Review. He was a journalist for more than four decades. In 1987-88 he was chief deputy secretary of state of Nevada. He was coauthor of Uniquely...