Election Day: Are You A Voter or Nonvoter?
Election day is finally here, please be sure to vote! Here’s a look at the turnout in the City of St. Louis from four different elections:
- August 2014 Missouri Primary: 35,540 ballots (20.29%) of 175,178 registered voters
- March 2013 Municipal Primary: 44,399 ballots (22.08%) of 201,050 registered voters
- November 2012 Presidential: 144,537 ballots (74.04%) of 195,222 registered voters
- November 2010 Midterm: 91,449 ballots (48.52%) of 188,480 registered voters
If only our turnout was as high for every election as it is ever four years for president. Thankfully the folks at Pew have been looking into voter participation:
Nonvoters are younger, less educated and less affluent than are likely voters. More than half (54%) of nonvoters have a high school diploma or less, compared to 28% among likely voters. Nonvoters are also far less likely to have a post graduate degree (5% of nonvoters, 17% of likely voters).
Low education levels and low incomes go hand-in-hand: 46% of nonvoters have family incomes under $30,000, compared with just 19% among likely voters.
A much higher proportion of nonvoters identify as racial or ethnic minorities than voters. Only 6% of likely voters identify as Hispanic or Latino, compared to 23% of nonvoters. Three quarters (77%) of likely voters are white, compared with just 55% among nonvoters.
Fewer nonvoters than voters are affiliated with a religion. Among voters, 21% identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular”; among nonvoters, it’s 27%. (Pew Research — recommenced reading)
Some suggest we should follow other countries and require every eligible citizen to vote.
— Steve Patterson
I disagree with the “suggestion” that we “require every eligible citizen to vote”. Voting is both a right and a privilege, but I see nothing that can be gained by making it a duty. We have low voter turnout because people either don’t care or don’t see their vote having any impact. I, like many other voters, am totally frustrated with the shenanigans and the lack of action, by Congress, at the federal level, and the far-right-wing, rural agenda, at the state level, yet I’m still going to “vote” in my gerrymandered district, where the incumbents are destined to win. For many other people, it boils down to “what’s the point?” Until we see more competetive races and advertising that focuses on substantive positions held by the candidates, not the insipid, negative advertising crap that has clogged the airways for the past months, why should we be “motivated” to vote? And as long as party trumps person, and you’re a part of the minority party, it gets really tiresome voting for candidates that, even if elected, have little or no possiblity of advancing an agenda that mirrors my values . . .
The requirement of voting in Brazil produces some very comical results. John Oliver did a bit on this during his show on HBO several weeks ago and I believe he pointed to an incident where a cat was elected into a public office. I don’t think forcing people to vote will help, those who need to be forced will likely be uniformed voters anyway.