From USA Today:

Growing number of voters ignore primary elections
Updated 7/17/2006

By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - Halfway through this year's primary season, voters are
showing little interest in picking candidates for the Nov. 7 elections
that will determine control of Congress and elect more than one-third
of the nation's governors.
Twenty-five states held primaries through June 27. Sixteen of the 22
states that have certified figures or provided estimates to USA TODAY
recorded voter turnout lower than 2002, the last national election
that wasn't in a presidential year.

Fewer voters 'define range of choices'

Some experts worry that a voter boycott of primaries could result in
politics being dominated by single-issue special-interest groups.

"The higher the turnout, the more representative an election is," says
Rhodes Cook, publisher of a non-partisan political newsletter. "The
lower the turnout, the more the election is likely to reflect a wing
of a party or an ideology."

Turnout hasn't cracked 40% in any state. In most, primary
participation was in the 20%-30% range. Idaho, Illinois, North
Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and West Virginia posted their lowest
primary turnouts in at least eight years.

So far, the year's rock-bottom has come in Virginia, which did not
have a 2002 primary. The June 13 Democratic Senate primary drew
national attention and was open to all Virginians, regardless of their
party. Fewer than 4% of more than 4.5 million eligible voters showed
up to nominate former Navy secretary Jim Webb to face Sen. George
Allen in November.

Americans' ho-hum attitude about primaries doesn't necessarily mean
they will stay away from the polls this fall. More than one out of
three Americans are giving the upcoming congressional elections "quite
a lot of thought," according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken last
month.

"In any given year, primary turnout will not predict general-election
turnout," says Curtis Gans of American University's Center for the
Study of the American Electorate

Gans is expecting "close to a record low" turnout for this year's
primaries but thinks it will be "comparatively high" in the fall. "The
polarization around George Bush will drive this election," he says.

Still, he's concerned the no-shows have devalued the importance of
voting. "We essentially have gotten rid of the religion of civic
duty," Gans says.