To Vote or not to Vote?

There are more people gaining the right to vote today than ever before, but unfortunately, they do not take advantage of their power.  Approximately 75 percent of the current U.S. population is of voting age, but less than 40 percent of registered voters actually show up to the voting polls.  In 1950, approximately 12 million U.S. citizens were within 18-24 years old, while today that number has increased to over 20 million.

From our parents' generation to our own, the amount of voters that turn out to an election has steadily declined.  The graph below demonstrates the ebb and flow of voter turnout from 1944 to today.  The rise in votes in the 2008 election is somewhat skewed due to the importance of the results and the increase of young voter turnout.

Traditionally, the amount of voter turnout has been higher in those with college degrees.  In an era with more college graduates than before, one would expect the turnout of voters to be much larger as well.  In 1990, about 63 percent of college graduates casted their vote, compared to 42 percent of those with only a high school diploma.  At this time, college graduates made up for 20 percent of the U.S. adult population, they cast 27 percent of the votes.

In the 1990 Congressional Election, only 45 percent of those 18 and older reported of voting, the lowest report in two decades.  Only 56 percent of the population from 45 to 64 years old and 60 percent of those 65 and older turnout to vote.  Only 20 percent of those 18 to 14 years old and 41 percent of those 25 to 44 turnout to vote.

In 2000, there were 210,721,837 U.S. residents of voting age, and only 107,390,107 of those residents turned out to cast their vote, approximately 50 percent voter turnout.  In the 2010 election, the number of voting age residents raised to 235,809,266, and the turnout dropped to only 90,682,968 voters, a decrease to only 38 percent.

In the 2004 Presidential Election, there were 220,803,686 U.S. residents of voting age, and only 123,535,883 of those residents turned out to cast their vote, approximately 60 percent voter turnout.  By the 2008 election, the number of voting age U.S. residents rose to 230,782,870, but only 132,645,504 of those residents turned out to cast their vote, surprisingly only 57 percent voter turnout.

To learn more about voter turnout and census information, visit the U.S. Census.