188 PART Two • ThE PoliTiCs oF AmERiCAn DEmoCRACy
Voter Turnout
The percentage of citizens
taking part in the election
process; the number
of eligible voters who
actually “turn out” on
Election Day to cast their
ballots.
Midterm Elections
National elections in which
candidates for president
are not on the ballot. In
midterm elections, voters
choose all members
of the U.S. House of
Representatives and one-
third of the members of
the U.S. Senate.all of the support for the new ID laws. In 2011 and 2012, nineteen states enacted voter ID
requirements, and eleven of these states mandated photo IDs. Not all of these laws were
actually in effect on Election Day, however. In Wisconsin, a state court held that the new
law violated the state constitution. In Maine and Ohio, voters repealed new voting laws
before the November elections.
Also, until 2013, most southern states with a history of racial discrimination had to
obtain preclearance from the federal government for any significant change to their voting
laws and procedures under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Department of Justice refused
to preclear voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas on the ground that the laws impose
a greater burden on minority voters than on whites. More than 239,000 registered voters
in South Carolina lacked the identification needed to vote under that state’s proposed law.The impact of Restrictive Voting laws on Voter Turnout. As we explain in the
next section, the number of Americans who fail to vote in any election is very large. Any
factor that affects voter turnout, therefore, can have a major impact on election results.
Heavy voter turnout among conservatives, for example, made 2010 a banner year for the
Republicans. In 2012, a belief by minority group members that their voting rights were
at risk seems to have increased minority turnout measurably. If the new voting laws really
were meant to reduce the Democratic vote, they apparently backfired.Turning out to Vote
In 2012, the number of Americans eligible to vote was about 221.9 million people. Of
that number, about 130.3 million, or 58.7 percent of the eligible population, actually cast
a ballot. When voter turnout is this low, it means, among other things, that the winner of
a close presidential election may be voted in by less than a third of those eligible to vote.
Figure 8–1 on the facing page shows voter turnout for presidential and congressio-
nal elections from 1910 to 2012. Each of the peaks in the figure represents voter turnout
in a presidential election. Thus, we can also see that turnout for congressional elections
is influenced greatly by whether there is a presidential election in the same year. Whereas
voter turnout during the presidential elections of 2012 was 58.7 percent, it was only
41.6 percent in the midterm elections of 2010.
The same is true at the state level. When there is a race for governor, more voters
participate in the elections than when only state legislators are on the ballot. Voter partici-
pation rates in gubernatorial elections are also greater in presidential election years. The
average turnout in state elections is about 14 percentage points higher when a presiden-
tial election is held.
Now consider local elections. In races for mayor, city council, county auditor, and the
like, it is fairly common for only 25 percent or less of the electorate to vote. Is something
amiss here? It would seem that people should be more likely to vote in elections that
directly affect them. At the local level, each person’s vote counts more (because there are
fewer voters). Furthermore, the issues—crime control, school bonds, sewer bonds, and the
like—touch the immediate interests of the voters. In reality, however, potential voters are
most interested in national elections, when a presidential choice is involved. Otherwise,
voter participation in our representative government is very low (and, as we have seen, it
is not overwhelmingly high even in presidential elections).The Effect of low Voter Turnout. There are two schools of thought concerning low
voter turnout. Some view low voter participation as a threat to our democratic republic.
Too few individuals are deciding who wields political power in our society. In addition, lowwww
Helpful Web Sites
Professor Michael
McDonald of George
Mason University hosts
a top site for presidential
election returns. Search
on “us elections project”
to get the nation’s best
analysis of voter turnout.
For historical data, try
“leip 2012 results” for
a page from Dave Leip’s
Atlas of U.S. Presidential
Elections.
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