Bowen offers special election trivia

With voters going to the polls for two special elections on Tuesday, Secretary of State Debra Bowen is offering some special election trivia.
"Special elections are not as rare as they used to be and they present unique challenges to voters and cash-strapped elections officials," Bowen said in a statement. "Our democracy depends on citizen representation, but most voters get excited about going to the polls in June or November for a gubernatorial or presidential election, not in January or April or December to vote on a single contest."
* In the last 20 years, there have been 96 special primary and general elections to fill vacant seats in the Assembly, Senate and Congress in California, an average of 4.8 per year.
* The highest voter turnout for a special election that did not coincide with an already scheduled statewide election was 52.2 percent in 1998 when Lois Capps was elected to fill a vacancy in the 22nd Congressional District.
* In 2009, the voter turnout in the special elections to fill the vacancies in Senate District 26 and Assembly District 51 garnered the lowest voter turnout in the last 20 years, when 7.9 percent of the electorate turned out to vote in each election.
* In the January 12, 2010 special general election in the 72nd Assembly District, 15.6 percent of voters turned out to vote, and 81 percent of voters voted by mail.
* The average voter turnout in special elections since 1990 is 24.7 percent.
* The most special legislative and congressional elections in a single year since 1990: 18 in 1993. The combined average voter turnout for those elections was 27 percent.
* Since 1990, there has been at least one special election every year, except in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
The cost of a special election can vary widely and differs from county to county.