Voting Turnout in America is Very Low - but that might be Changing
2008 Presidential election early voting lines, Charlotte. Photo Credit: James Willamson from Raleigh, NC, USA
By: Logan Phillips
Date: August 12th
For a nation founded on a bedrock of Democratic principles, a dreadfully low number of Americans come out to vote on Election Day. If we were to count “Stayed at Home and Didn’t Vote” as a Presidential candidate in 2016, it would have trounced Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in a land slide election.
The United States trails most other well established and wealthy democracies in VAP, or the percent of eligible voting age citizens that turnout on election day. This is not just a symbolic black eye, but a problem with real consequences. The less engaged the citizenry, the less elected officials represent their constituents.
However, there are encouraging signs that voters are becoming more engaged. In 2018, Americans came out in droves, with higher levels of turnout then any midterm since women secured their right to vote over one hundred years ago. Even more promising, almost twice as many young voters decided to make their voices heard in 2018 as did in 2014.
So far, this year has been no different. Despite the ongoing pandemic, primary turnout records have been broken in many states around the country, sometimes in states where the top ticket races weren’t even contested. It is also clear that citizens are willing to engage in ways they haven’t been before, as indicated by the enormous crowds in cities and towns across the country protesting against police violence towards African Americans.
There is a genuine possibility that the general election in 2020 could be similarly historic, although the picture is far less clear now that some voters will be deterred from participating due to Coronavirus fears. Moreover, there is currently a huge shortage of volunteer poll workers, which could lead precincts being closed or severely understaffed.
(If you are looking for a way to participate in your Democracy, America desperately needs more people to volunteer as poll workers on and leading up to election day. Poll workers are entirely made up of everyday citizens, and you don’t need any prior experience to get involved. Sign up here: https://www.powerthepolls.org/TDS )
Nonetheless, chances are high that the states that have taken precautionary steps and established early voting and easy access to absentee ballots will still see much higher levels of voting than normal.
Perhaps the bigger question is whether turnout is only a temporary product of a Trump era that has caused both supporters and detractors to pay far more attention to politics than they normally would, or an enduring change that leads to a more engaged citizenry. Most likely, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. In the meantime, there are several evidence-based steps that would significantly and permanently increase turnout and make our elections more fair and representative.
1. First, automatically register all eligible Americans to vote so that all they need to do is show up on election day. One study found this would lead to eight million more Americans voting in the first year alone. Alternatively, adopt same day registration
2. Second, enable all voters to vote by absentee ballot and early vote
3. Third, pass a new Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court’s decision to weaken the historic Voting Rights Act that passed in the Civil Rights Era has led to the most egregious and extensive efforts to restrict the right to vote of African Americans and Latinos of any time since Jim Crow. Clearly, some politicians are willing to obstruct their citizens democratic rights to increase their odds of retaining power, and the only way to permanently stop these efforts is with new federal legislation.
4. Fourth, elections are significantly underfunded, which leads to excessively long lines and not nearly enough precincts open for voters. This problem has been made significantly worse by the Coronavirus. Increased funding on a national and state level would help ameliorate this problem and speed up the voting process.
Democracy remains at the center of American identity, and for good reason. The Great Experiment that the American Founders undertook at this country’s origin was far from certain to succeed, and its triumph was a powerful example that inspired dozens of nations in their own revolutions and evolutions towards Democratic governance. This is a legacy that Americans should be proud of, and it’s time for the United States to step up its own game and encourage as many citizens as possible to participate in the democratic process.
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