Voter Turnout
Alisa Zhao
01-08-24
Voter turnout serves as a helpful statistic that reflects the level of voter engagement in a specific election.
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High voter turnout is one of the marks of a thriving democracy because it demonstrates a healthy level of political participation
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Low voter turnout can indicate public distrust and political apathy
2020 General Election Voter Turnout
Source: circle.tufts.edt
The idea of voter turnout isn't complicated - it's like any other statistic in math class. To find voter turnout, you want to divide the part over the whole. In other words, voter turnout = number of votes/number of voters.
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​There are several different ways to calculate this number, as the numbers may vary due to what pool of 'votes' or 'voters' you're looking at.
Evidently, although the concept of voter turnout is straightforward, the process of measuring it can be difficult. Frequently, states or media outlets present turnout numbers that use different dominators, making turnout statistics ambiguous and inconsistent. To ensure consistency, it's better to use a measure that accurately represents the possible voter population. Thus, VEP (Voting Eligible Population) is the recommended and most widely used denominator.
FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER TURNOUT
There are several factors that can affect voter turnout.
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Elections: Presidential election cycles (e.g. 2020, 2024, etc.) consistently have higher voter participation than off-year elections (e.g. 2018, 2022) for state legislators and local offices.
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Voting Regulations: Voter registration, ID requirements, and accessibility options like early voting, absentee ballots, and polling locations vary among states.
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As of April 4th, 2023, Ohio has a stricter voter ID law. When voting in person, voters must confirm their identity. When voting by mail, voters must provide a copy of acceptable ID.
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Impact of Issues: Voter turnout will likely increase when policy issues are relevant to the concerns of specific demographics.
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Ex) In Ohio, Issue 1 and 2 drew an unprecedented amount of voters to the poll. Voter turnout was at an all time high of 30%.
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Demographic Patterns: Individuals who are older, wealthier, and more educated tend to participate in elections more actively.
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Age - Younger adults (18-29 years old) are much less likely to vote than older adults (30 and older). In the 2020 presidential election, voter turnout among ages 65-74 was 76%, while participation among ages 18-24 was 51.4%. As age increases, voter turnout also increases.
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Race/Ethnicity - Historically, white adults have a higher turnout than adults of color. There are exceptions to this pattern, as demonstrated by the 2008 election, when Black voter turnout matched or exceeded that of whites. This might be due to external factors, like the identity of the presidential candidate. In this case, Barack Obama was the Democratic Candidate in 2008 and 2012, drawing many Black voters to the polls on Election Day.
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Gender - Women consistently demonstrate higher voter turnout than men, a trend observed in every presidential election since 1964.
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Socioeconomic Status - Individuals with higher incomes are more likely to vote than those with lower earnings. In the 2020 election, people with income of $100,000-$149,000 were 17.7% more likely to vote than people with incomes of $30,000-$39,999.​
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Source: US Census Bureau
Source: Sage Journals