POLI 101: U.S. Government Dr. Kevin Lasher

Low Turnout in the United States

Individual Factors Old people vote more than young people. Highly educated individuals vote more than less educated individuals. Wealthy people vote more than poor people. Partisans/ideologues vote more than non-partisans. We the People, p. 310-318

US Turnout in Last Twenty Years 50-59% in presidential elections 30-39% in off-year elections (not 2018) Voting Age Population (VAP) Figures Voting Eligible Population (VEP) kkkkkkkkkk

VAP Figures vs. VEP Figures U.S. Turnout in Presidential and Congressional Elections 2004 55.4 (60.1) 2006 37.2 (40.4) 2008 56.9 (61.6) 2010 37.8 (41.0) 2012 53.6 (58.0) 2014 33.2 (36.0) 2016 54.7 (59.2) 2018 46.5 (49.3)* VAP Figures vs. VEP Figures

Systemic Factors Nature of elections Weak political parties Tuesday Voting Registration laws Apathetic citizens

Nature of elections kkkkkkkkkk

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Nature of elections Numerous elections and many offices “Election overload” Educational differences point to the complexity of American elections Parliamentary systems may have one or two votes Multi-party systems have higher turnout than two party systems kkkkkkkkkk

Weak Political Parties kkkkkkkkkk Republicans and Democrats are NOT in the “turnout maximization” business; they are in the business of winning elections

Weak Political Parties 120 million voters 130 million voters 140 million voters kkkkkkkkkk Get 50.1%

Weak Political Parties 1960 2016 Dem 43% Dem 30% Indep 23% Indep 41% Repub 32% Repub 27% kkkkkkkkkk

Weak Political Parties kkkkkkkkkk Independents are much less likely to vote on election day than partisans (Republicans or Democrats)

Weak Political Parties Both parties have put more emphasis on voter mobilization in the last 10-15 years; may contribute to slight increase in turnout in last few elections kkkkkkkkkk

Tuesday Voting Raises “costs” of voting 1872 congressional law placing second Tuesday in November Many countries vote on week-ends Create a National Voting Day (every two years) Holiday or week-end voting might increase turnout by 5-7% kkkkkkkkkk

Registration Laws You must be registered to vote in order to vote “Costly” to register Used to be many restrictions on registration (most eliminated) It is VERY EASY to register to vote in 2019 1993 Motor Voter Law which enabled registration in many government offices kkkkkkkkkk

Registration Laws Registration rates have risen BUT percentage of registered who actually vote has fallen So easy to register that we have included a lot of “iffy” potential voters kkkkkkkkkk

Same Day Registration kkkkkkkkkk

Same Day Registration Nine states used SDR in 2012 election SDR States 69% Non-SDR States 58% Every state using SDR would add 5-7% in overall turnout kkkkkkkkkk

Same Day Registration States with highest turnout in 2016 MINNESOTA* 74.1% NEW HAMPSHIRE* 71.4% MAINE* 70.7% * SDR state (11) COLORADO* 70.0% WISCONSIN* 69.5% IOWA* 68.4% US 59.2% Massachusetts 67.2% SC 56.7% Maryland 66.4% Oregon 66.2% Virginia 66.1% kkkkkkkkkk

Apathetic Citizens No mandatory voting in US People are free to exercise their “right” to not vote kkkkkkkkkk

Apathetic Citizens Alienated citizens who are turned off by the nature of political campaigns or who honestly do not like the two main choices they are given These alienated voters could be “mobilized” with better campaigns (or better candidates) kkkkkkkkkk

Apathetic Citizens kkkkkkkkkk Truly apathetic citizens who do not care about politics at all Nothing will convince these people to participate (and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing)

Conclusion 80 - 85 % Turnout ? “Perfect US voting turnout system” …. kkkkkkkkkk

The End