Low Voter Turnout in the U.S.
- Elizabeth McBride
- Aug 16, 2021
- 3 min read
The U.S. has always been notorious for having a low voter turnout. Even with the increase in voter participation in the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. lags behind most of its highly Democratic peers in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development when it comes to voter turnout. It actually places 30th out of 35 nations for voter turnout.
Why is this the cause? One of the defining features of America is its democracy that enables citizens to participate in government and elect people they want in office. The low voter turnout in America can be attributed to various factors.
Electoral Competitiveness: The United States uses the Electoral College for presidential elections. Under this system, each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. A candidate that wins a majority of votes in a state gets all of that state’s electoral votes in a winner-take all system. States that almost always lean blue or left may witness low voter turnout among both sides. Someone from the majority side may be confident enough to assume that they don’t need to vote to guarantee that the state goes their way. Someone from the minority side may feel that it is pointless to vote because the majority will always win. This can happen in states like California which has an exceedingly strong Democrat population or southern states that are dominated by the Republican Party.
Election Type: People care the most about presidential elections. Despite not having much power relative to other positions, the president is the most prominent figure among the public. People blame and credit the president with things that aren’t necessarily his or her doing. Unfortunately, people don’t pay as much attention to other politicians such as congresspeople, state officials, and local officials.
Voting Suppression: Since the Fifteenth Amendment, there have been numerous voter suppression laws enacted to prevent particular segments of the population from voting, namely minorities. Voter ID laws, shorter voting periods, an inadequate number of polling places, voting purges, etc. can all lower voter turnout by making it harder to vote. In the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, some voters had to wait in line for 11 hours to finally cast their ballots. Knowing that you will have to travel a long distance just to get to a polling station and then wait in line for over an hour is a strong deterrent from voting.
Decentralization: The U.S. has no compulsory voting laws. It is a personal choice. That means it is up to individuals to educate themselves on voting laws and to vote. People’s lives are hectic. They have to balance work, personal affairs, taxes, mortgages, and other tedious affairs. It makes sense then that most people simply don’t have the time to stay informed or to vote. With so much going on in life, it is hard to care enough about politics, something that seems so far removed.
Disillusionment: American’s trust in the government has been steadily decreasing for a while. Some people worry about elections being rigged, diminishing the importance of their votes. A Knight Foundation study found that 38% of nonvoters were not confident that election results accurately reflected the will of the voters. Corruption, influence of large corporations, and poor quality are just some of the many reasons why Americans are skeptical about elections. Disillusionment is also not restricted to a single socioeconomic group. Low income, middle class, and wealthy all experience disillusionment with government.
References
Ahmed, H. (2021). How the Biden Administration can tackle America’s voter turnout problem. Center for American Progress.
Desilver, D. (2020). In past elections, U.S. trailed most developed countries in voter turnout. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/03/in-past-elections-u-s-trailed-most-developed-countries-in-voter-turnout/
FairVote. (n.d.) What affects voter turnout rates. FairVote.
Khalid, A., Gonyea, D., & Fadel, L. (2018). On the sidelines of democracy: Exploring why so many Americans don’t vote. NPR.
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