11/5/2014
Voter Turnout
Voting in America is a civic duty for all citizens. It is our job to shape our futures and one way to do that is through voting. This allows for normal people to have a voice in government and to have a say in what laws and regulations get passed into office. Yesterday marked the day of the midterm elections in the U.S. and records show that this year has been one of the lowest midterm turnouts in history. The midterm elections were horrific for many states except for twelve in regard to turnout. Many expected a major decrease this year but the result were worse than expected.
Voter turnout is has always been an issue for the U.S. around election time, particularly among the young adults ages from 18 through 30. Statistics from the Tuesday's elections show that amongst all of the voters, only 13% were under the age of 30. This is crippling voting results because the youth under 30 greatly outnumber those above the age of 30 yet less youth show up to vote. Another huge issue has to do with the non voters that didn't participate in the recent elections. According to the United States Elections Project:
"Nonvoters are also more racially diverse than the voting population and are less educated. More than 40 percent of likely nonvoters in the 2014 elections identified as Hispanic, black or other racial/ethnic minorities, compared with 22 percent of likely voters. While most voters (72 percent) have completed some college, nonvoters are more likely to have never attended college."
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/11/05/midterm-turnout-decreased-in-all-but-12-states
Santa Clara county suffered a huge loss in turnout this year. An estimated 9.9% showed up at the polls on Tuesday and almost all that showed up were veteran voters above the age of thirty. Minority votes in Santa Clara were extremely lacking as well.
The democratic party suffered heavy losses with the previous elections as well. Studies have shown that populations who are more likely avoid polls are those mostly likely to vote for a Democrat, which presents a challenge for the Democratic party and its candidates. The loss of turnout is said to have been one of the reasons why the Republicans gained control of the Senate. The loss of votes for the Democrats during the election far outweighed their gains and the Republican party pulled ahead with less loss due to more turnouts for their party.
Compared to the 2010 midterm elections, turnout for this year makes much more sense in comparison to the presidential elections. The 2010 elections only had a voter turnout of 40.9% while in 2014 we only had a 36.6% of eligible voter show up for the polls (United States Elections Project). Turnout numbers in Washington, Delaware, Missouri, South Dakota, California and Indiana all dropped by more than ten percentage points between 2010 and 2014. Although some states made gains in voter turnout (Nebraska, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Maine, to name several), most states dropped. Only twelve states turned out a higher percentage of eligible voters this year than in the last midterms.
Voter turnout is has always been an issue for the U.S. around election time, particularly among the young adults ages from 18 through 30. Statistics from the Tuesday's elections show that amongst all of the voters, only 13% were under the age of 30. This is crippling voting results because the youth under 30 greatly outnumber those above the age of 30 yet less youth show up to vote. Another huge issue has to do with the non voters that didn't participate in the recent elections. According to the United States Elections Project:
"Nonvoters are also more racially diverse than the voting population and are less educated. More than 40 percent of likely nonvoters in the 2014 elections identified as Hispanic, black or other racial/ethnic minorities, compared with 22 percent of likely voters. While most voters (72 percent) have completed some college, nonvoters are more likely to have never attended college."
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/11/05/midterm-turnout-decreased-in-all-but-12-states
Santa Clara county suffered a huge loss in turnout this year. An estimated 9.9% showed up at the polls on Tuesday and almost all that showed up were veteran voters above the age of thirty. Minority votes in Santa Clara were extremely lacking as well.
The democratic party suffered heavy losses with the previous elections as well. Studies have shown that populations who are more likely avoid polls are those mostly likely to vote for a Democrat, which presents a challenge for the Democratic party and its candidates. The loss of turnout is said to have been one of the reasons why the Republicans gained control of the Senate. The loss of votes for the Democrats during the election far outweighed their gains and the Republican party pulled ahead with less loss due to more turnouts for their party.
Compared to the 2010 midterm elections, turnout for this year makes much more sense in comparison to the presidential elections. The 2010 elections only had a voter turnout of 40.9% while in 2014 we only had a 36.6% of eligible voter show up for the polls (United States Elections Project). Turnout numbers in Washington, Delaware, Missouri, South Dakota, California and Indiana all dropped by more than ten percentage points between 2010 and 2014. Although some states made gains in voter turnout (Nebraska, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Maine, to name several), most states dropped. Only twelve states turned out a higher percentage of eligible voters this year than in the last midterms.
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