Voter Turnout Hits Record High While Voter Percentage Hits Record Low

A survey of ten people about voting habits revealed the motives behind the simple act of voting.

Out of the ten people who participated, eight had voted in the 2016 Presidential Election, one had not voted for forty years, and another had not been registered to vote.
People voted in the 2016 election because they felt it was their right, and that they wanted their voices to be heard.
“It is my constitutional right to vote the elected officials in the land so that my voice is heard” Maureen, an employee at a retail store, said.
Some feel that they should vote because not everybody in the world has that right.
“I voted because a lot of people say we have no voice, and I know it is done by electoral votes, but every voice matters. To get that voice, people have to go out and vote. It’s your God given right and we should be very proud that we have that right, a lot of countries don’t” Sarah, an employee at a retail store, said.
Others feel that not voting takes away their right to criticize the government.
“I thought that my vote mattered, and if I didn’t vote than I can’t complain about the outcome” Robert, a customer at a mall, said.
People vote because the election affects them personally.
“I voted because the election affects me personally and I feel like it affects a lot of the U.S citizens” Claudia, a customer at a mall, said.
The results from this small study aligns with the initial results of the greater study done by the United State Election Project nationwide. In the 2016 election, nearly 139 people voted according to the United States Election project. That election set a new record, compared to the 2008 election that saw participation from almost 132 million people. However, The United States Election project’s final results show that this number does not mean that the percentage of eligible voters participating in elections has increased.
The United States Election Project found that the percentage of eligible voters participating in elections has been decreasing. According to the study, voter turnout is only greater because of a bigger population. There is a greater number of people who could have voted, but did not, compared to elections in the past.
“The reason 2008 and 2016 appear to have record-breaking turnout is because the US population has increased, so there are more voters overall. But when you look at voter turnout as a percentage, it has decreased or stagnated in the last century” Rebecca Harrington and Skye Gould said in their Business Insider article.
If almost 139 million out of 232 million eligible voting citizens participated in the 2016 Presidential election, that would mean that only 60 percent of eligible voters participated in the election, according to The United States Election Project. In 2008, 62 percent of eligible voters participated in the election. While higher than 2016 voter turnout, this percentage is still lower than other industrial countries, according to the study.
Business Insider suggests that many Americans did not vote for a president in 2016 because of the choices. In fourteen states, more people voted in the Senate races than the Presidential. In fact, 2.4 million people across the United States left the Presidential ballots blank.
As far as primary election participation goes, the Bipartisan Policy Center found that there was a record low voter turnout in the 2012 nominating election. About 16 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2012 nominating election, and in the 2008 nominating election, about 32 percent of of eligible voters participated.
A study done by Thomas E. Patterson from Harvard Kennedy School analyzed data from primary elections and caucuses. The study concluded that people vote based on the “importance” of the election, rather than a civic duty.
“Today’s voters appear more selective than those of earlier generations, choosing to vote or not vote based on their sense of an election’s significance rather than out of sense of personal duty” Patterson said.