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Spenser Bannick
Mr. Gibson
A.P. United States Government
21 December 2014
Decline in Voter Turnout: Causes and Potential Remedies
The voter turnout for this year’s midterm elections was approximately 35.9%
(McDonald). Statistically, this percentage is closest to the results of 1796’s midterm elections, a
time in which women, blacks and non-property owning white men were disenfranchised, and
religious tests prior to voting were standard practice. The last time midterm elections reached at
least 50% voter turnout was 1912 – before all eighteen-year-olds were able to vote, before the
19th amendment, before the Indian Citizenship Act and before the Civil Rights Movement – so
why alongside continually expanding enfranchisement is there a consistent downward curve in
voter turnout? Is the issue a global phenomenon, or is it unique to American cultural identity? Is
there a remedy to the looming crisis of low voter turnout? What many analysts call ‘voter
apathy’ has many complex roots branching from the socioeconomic stability of the electorate to
the position of democracy in today’s burgeoning political atmosphere.
To begin, low voter turnout is not an issue unique to the United States. Greece’s 2012
elections – arguably some of the most important in the nation’s recent history as its economy
struggles to climb from the ravine of economic malaise – recorded an unfortunately low 63%
voter turnout in the land of democracy’s roots ("Voter Turnout Data for Greece (Parliamentary,
EU Parliament)”). While this would be a resounding improvement for the United States, Greece
has seen percentages averaging approximately 75% for the past 50 years. In 2011, Portugal’s
elections saw turnout averaging at around or just below 50% (“Voter Turnout Data for Portugal
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(Parliamentary, Presidential, EU Parliament)”). Egypt, just following the Arab Spring, reported
only a 47% voter turnout in its presidential election in 2014 ("Voter Turnout Data for Egypt
(Parliamentary, Presidential)”). For the past 70 years, global voter turnout has been on a marked
and frightening decline. Clearly, the United States is not immune. The United States has seen a
turnout decline which mirrors the rest of the democratic world, except the United States’ voter
turnout is still nearly 40% below most countries in Western Europe (Zelenko). Michael Zelenko
suggests that this stems from a plethora of issues: dissatisfaction with proposed candidates, a
feeling of unimportance in the macro of national elections, political ignorance of the electorate
and inability of segments of the electorate to reach the polls. Realistically, can all of these faults
be mitigated?
To properly analyze these suggested hindrances to turnout, knowledge of who votes is
important. In 1991, the United States Bureau of the Census comprised its data of the electorate to
release a report on voter turnout. The findings mirrored a trend that encompasses the rest of the
democratic world: that even though more Americans are gaining the right to vote, few are taking
advantage of it (“The Decline in American Voter Turnout”). First, it found that turnout and
income are directly proportional. Those with a higher income are more likely to vote, citing that
persons earning under $10,000 a year had an average turnout of 31% whereas turnout for those
making over $50,000 a year was around 59%. It also highlighted that persons who had lived in
their home for over five years were more likely to vote than persons who lived in their homes for
under a year, at 58% and 22% respectively. The census also found that homeowners were more
likely to vote than renters, at 53% and 27% respectively. The census found that voter turnout by
demographic increases with age. The differences in turnout by age demographic are rather
striking: 60% of persons age 65 and over voted, 56% of those age 45 to 64, 41% of those age 25
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to 44 and only 20% of those age 18 to 24. Voters are also more or less likely to vote based on
education: 63% of persons with a college degree voted in 1990, 43% with a high school diploma,
and 28% of persons with 0-8 years of school completion. By region, the Midwest was in the lead
with 49% voter turnout. It was followed at 45% by both the West and Northeast, and the South at
42%. By vocation, the census found that workers in the public sector have an average turnout of
63% whereas workers in the private sector average at 41%. If remedies are to be employed, they
must be employed to reach certain demographics.
It is likely no coincidence that the South has the lowest showing of voter turnout. The
region of the United States known for its oppression of minorities and racist laws pre-Civil
Rights era continues to deprive the poor, and bluntly, the black with policies enacted in similar
spirit. Following the controversial decision of Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down key
provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, states in the South immediately put forth policies
that would disenfranchise many ("State by State Voter ID Laws”). The first and foremost way to
ensure high turnout is to ensure enfranchisement. The implementation of electoral policies that
seek to add obstacles to the electorate will inevitably do just that, and turnout will decrease as a
result. To ensure that the average citizen has a say in elections, the average citizen must be able
to access the polls. This connects with another issue with polling: for many, polls are hard to
reach. In Pennsylvania, polls are open from 7:00am to 8:00pm on election days (“Poll Hours”).
For many that are socioeconomically positioned beneath the middle class, the polls cannot be
reached during those times because work occupies the voting timespan. As it turns out, because
of this, those who seek help the most are deprived of a voice by restrictive voting hours. To
remedy this and ensure that the full electorate is able to exercise their right to vote, voting hours
should encompass the entire day. Another effective way to counter the issue of balancing work
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and the ballot is to administer elections on a non-work day, or to make the election days holidays
of their own (Zelenko). Alternatively, if voters are truly unable to make their way to a ballot, the
Internet age provides an easy and simple fix: the development of methods for online registration
and voting. Were voting able to be done via one’s home computer or phone, it would mitigate
the effect of electoral obstacles and likely present voter turnout more closely encompassing the
full electorate. As of 2014, 87% of Americans have access to the Internet (Fox & Rainie). Yet
another remedy, which has done well for countries like Australia, Turkey and Singapore is to
institute compulsory voting. For the past 70 years, Australia has seen a strong and consistent
voter turnout of over 90% due largely in part to their system of compulsory voting ("Voter
Turnout Data for Australia (Parliamentary)”). Unfortunately, these remedies all require a shift in
policy. That said, there are still many ways to inspire the electorate to be more politically active
that do not require changes in policy.
Persons are more likely to vote with age according to the United States Bureau of the
Census, as well as persons who have received more institutional education. A very simple
remedy to this is to educate younger demographics of the workings of politics and inspire them
to participate. Technology and the media is a powerful medium through which to reach these less
politically involved demographics. In 2008, the Obama campaign began using text messaging as
a platform through which to advertise. A Republican strategist spoke wisely of the method’s
power when he said, “It’s going to be read by every single person – have you ever not read a text
message” (Rozenoer)? Campaigns are also reaching younger demographics via commercials on
television. In November 2014, local election commercials were broadcast during commercial
breaks between scenes of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which holds the title of being the mostwatched television drama series in history. Of the 17.3 million viewers who watched its season 5
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premiere episode, approximately 11 million of them were in the 18-49 age demographic
(Freeman). Campaigns are now capable of reaching a new, younger and previously uninvolved
demographic through the media. To effectively pique the interest of younger demographics,
campaigns must actively seek to inform and pursue the younger demographics. Advertising
candidates and promoting campaigns while keeping the priorities and interests of younger voters
in mind will undoubtedly increase voter turnout among young voters. Similar to how one
“activates the base” by conforming to the wants of a more radical political base, one needs to
conform to the wants of the youth to activate the youth. Institutionally educated or not, the
average American citizen has access to television and the Internet. If political information is
embedded in the articles they read, the content they watch or the games they play then the
average American citizen will become more politically informed. Politics is already
institutionally ingrained in the life of the American citizen; it defines and decides the role
government has in the life of the everyday citizen and the citizen is given a say in this process.
The next step is to make politics culturally ingrained.
The decline in voter turnout branches from many issues. In order to ensure the highest
percentages of voter turnout across the board, the United States needs to address each issue
individually and learn from nations who have statistically higher turnout. The United States was
founded on the principles of republican government and the consent of the governed. For a long
time, there was a startling disparity between those who were able to give consent to governance
and those who were governed. Enfranchisement has expanded ceaselessly in the last century, but
voter turnout has not. The media has unprecedented prominence in the life of the American
citizen, and this resonates doubly so with the youngest generation of American citizens. In the
most recent elections, only 36% of America spoke. Political socialization has fostered a political
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climate where less new voters hold strong political convictions. Less of the electorate feels truly
empowered with their vote. The electorate needs to be reminded that their vote counts, and that
by voting their voice is heard. The tools to engender a political culture independent of changes in
policy are exposed; in order to ensure true democracy via high turnout, politics needs to be
reintegrated into American culture so to reach one of the largest segments of the electorate.
Today’s young become tomorrow’s leaders, and to ensure the integrity of tomorrow’s United
States, politics must appeal to the arbiters of the nation’s future: the young.
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(McDonald)
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(Fox & Rainie)
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(Fox & Rainie)
Works Cited
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The Decline in American Voter Turnout. Washington, D.C.?: U.S. Dept. of
Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, 1991.
Nov. 1991. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Fox, Susanna, and Lee Rainie. "The Web at 25 in the U.S." Pew Research Centers
Internet American Life Project RSS. N.p., 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.
Freeman, Molly. "‘The Walking Dead’ Season 5 Premiere Sets New Series High in
Ratings." Screen Rant. N.p., 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
McDonald, Michael. "United States Elections Project." United States Elections
Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"Poll Hours." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Rozenoer, Ekaterina. "Using New Media Effectively: An Analysis of Barack Obama's
Election Campaign Aimed at Young Americans." Using New Media Effectively: An
Analysis of Barack Obama's Election Campaign Aimed at Young Americans. N.p., Jan.
2010. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"State by State Voter ID Laws." Ballotpedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"U.S. Voting Rights." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"Voter Turnout Data for Australia (Parliamentary)." International IDEA. N.p., n.d.
Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"Voter Turnout Data for Egypt (Parliamentary, Presidential)." International IDEA.
N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"Voter Turnout Data for Greece (Parliamentary, EU Parliament)." International IDEA.
N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
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"Voter Turnout Data for Portugal (Parliamentary, Presidential, EU Parliament)."
International IDEA. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Zelenko, Michael. "Democracy in Decline?" World Policy Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 21
Dec. 2014.