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

2. Low Turnout in the United States

3. 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

4. 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)
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6. VAP Figures vs. VEP Figures
U.S. Turnout in Presidential and Congressional Elections
(60.1) (40.4)
(61.6) (41.0)
(58.0) (36.0)
(59.2) (49.3)*
VAP Figures vs. VEP Figures

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

8. Nature of elections
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10. 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
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11. Weak Political Parties
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Republicans and Democrats are NOT in the “turnout maximization” business; they are in the business of winning elections

12. Weak Political Parties
120 million voters
130 million voters
140 million voters
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Get 50.1%

13. Weak Political Parties
Dem 43% Dem 30%
Indep 23% Indep 41%
Repub 32% Repub 27%
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14. Weak Political Parties
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Independents are much less likely to vote on election day than partisans (Republicans or Democrats)

15. Weak Political Parties
Both parties have put more emphasis on voter mobilization in the last years; may contribute to slight increase in turnout in last few elections
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16. 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%
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17. 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
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18. 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
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19. Same Day Registration
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20. 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
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21. 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* % US 59.2%
Massachusetts 67.2% SC 56.7%
Maryland %
Oregon %
Virginia %
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22. Apathetic Citizens No mandatory voting in US
People are free to exercise their “right” to not vote
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23. 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)
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24. Apathetic Citizens
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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)

25. Conclusion 80 - 85 % Turnout ? “Perfect US voting turnout system” ….
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26. The End