Cuyahoga County 2016 Election: Voter Turnout Down Versus 2012

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH - Voter turnout was down significantly in the county for the 2016 presidential election. According to the Board of Elections, 597,485 ballots were cast by registered voters. That's down more than 50,000 votes versus 2012 when 650,437 Cuyahogans voted.

The primary culprit behind the dip in voter turnout is the city of Cleveland. In 2012, most of the city's precincts had between 50 and 60 percent voter turnout, with some soaring as high as 70 percent. In 2016, most precincts were in the mid-40s or low 50s, with only a handful of precincts breaking into the 70 percent range.

While the county is still processing some precincts, it's clear that Hillary Clinton merely held serve or underperformed in traditionally strong Democratic cities like Lakewood. It's also clear that despite an urgent and star studded "Get Out the Early Vote" campaign, voters in Northeast Ohio remained unmotivated to get to the polls early. In 2016, there were 218,711 early votes, down from 253,512 2012.

Part of the county and statewide apathy on the part of Ohio Democrats has to come back to the weakness of the candidate. Clinton regularly scored highly on unfavorable metrics and after a drawn out primary conflict with Senator Bernie Sanders many Millennials were disenchanted with the Democratic nominee. It was a cocktail for decreased Democratic turnout, particularly in historically strong blue counties like Cuyahoga.

The acidic vitriol that flooded the 2016 campaign also left Ohioans feeling downtrodden and exhausted. Again, in a strongly Democratic city like Shaker Heights, voters told Patch that they were grateful that the election was nearing its final salvo.

"It was amazing to vote for a woman," Kanika Christian, a Shaker Heights voter said. "But I'll just be relieved when this is over, regardless of who wins."

In Lakewood, the story was similar. “The overall tone of this election has been mostly negative. I’ll be happy when this is over,” said Lakewood voter Katie Kotkowski.

A democrat and a legal assistant, Kotkowski wasn’t enthusiastic about either candidate, saying that she felt regardless of who is elected, “we would probably have somebody different in four years anyway.”

As national polls become less opaque, it looks like high turnout in swing state rural counties contributed strongly to Donald Trump's victory. In Ohio, he was also aided by a lethargic and largely unmotivated Democratic base.

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