Presidential Voter Turnout Down From ’84
Voter turnout for this year’s presidential election declined in 48 states and the District of Columbia from four years ago, according to a study by a vote research organization.
Despite the Republican victory last Tuesday, GOP turnout was down sharply while Democratic turnout rose marginally, the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate said.
Overall, 91.3 million Americans--roughly half of the eligible voters--cast ballots in the election, down from 92.7 million, or 53.1% of those eligible, in 1984, the study said.
Turnout was lowest in the District of Columbia, where 36.6% of the eligible voters cast ballots, followed by South Carolina with 38.2%; Georgia, 38.3%; Hawaii, 42.6%, and Alaska, 42.8%. California’s turnout was 44.1%.
The highest turnout was in Minnesota, where 65.3% voted for President, followed by Wisconsin, 61.3%; South Dakota, 61.1%, and Montana and Maine, both 61%.
Only two states had a higher turnout this year than in 1984, the study said. Nevada’s turnout increased nearly 2 percentage points from four years ago to 43.4% while New Hampshire registered a 0.7 percentage point increase to 53.7%.
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