Voter Turnout Dropped (Again)
Voter turnout dropped in the 2016 election versus 2012 and especially since reaching a modern high in 2008. Here are figures for the last 20 years of presidential elections:
Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections
Year
% Eligible Voters
1996
53.5%
2000
56.6%
2004
62.1%
2008
63.7%
2012
60.0%
2016
55.4%*
These figures are from CNN.com, "Voter Turnout At 20-Year Low in 2016", Nov 11 and represent turnout as a percentage of eligible voters. The figure for 2016 is a slight undercount because at least a few states are still counting mail-in ballots. Even so, the final count will still be a few points below 2012's figure.
These numbers are both heartening and disheartening. But mostly disheartening. More than 40% of eligible voters chose not to vote (or were unable to vote). Especially in an election when the difference between the candidates, their policies, and their character was so markedly different, that's sad.
The slight bit that's positive is that even 56% turnout is more than recorded in the presidential elections between 1976-1996. Those were the data we talked about when I was a student and a young adult. The common wisdom at the time was that turnout was trending to drop below 50% even for presidential elections. So yay that turnout doesn't suck that much anymore?
Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections
Year
% Eligible Voters
1996
53.5%
2000
56.6%
2004
62.1%
2008
63.7%
2012
60.0%
2016
55.4%*
These figures are from CNN.com, "Voter Turnout At 20-Year Low in 2016", Nov 11 and represent turnout as a percentage of eligible voters. The figure for 2016 is a slight undercount because at least a few states are still counting mail-in ballots. Even so, the final count will still be a few points below 2012's figure.
These numbers are both heartening and disheartening. But mostly disheartening. More than 40% of eligible voters chose not to vote (or were unable to vote). Especially in an election when the difference between the candidates, their policies, and their character was so markedly different, that's sad.
The slight bit that's positive is that even 56% turnout is more than recorded in the presidential elections between 1976-1996. Those were the data we talked about when I was a student and a young adult. The common wisdom at the time was that turnout was trending to drop below 50% even for presidential elections. So yay that turnout doesn't suck that much anymore?