Alec Mueller- blog 1.4
1. What percentage of Americans voted in the 2012 election? What percentage of registered voters voted in the 2012 election?
There were 241 million people of voting age, but only 130.2 million actually cast ballots in the general election, which make the turnout rate 58.6 percent! In the 2012 election, around 84 percent of registered voters cast a ballot.
2. How do state requirements to register ahead of time prevent people from voting?
The reason this prevents people from voting is because have to remember to register, often in advance, and the rules vary from place to place. Minnesota allows you to register on Election Day. In North Dakota, you don’t have to register at all. But in many other states, you have to register well in advance, which causes a huge problem because plenty of people seem to forget.
3. What reason do most people give for not participating in the election?
Many people simply say that they weren’t interested in voting at all, or disliked the candidates, or didn’t care. People just don’t think that their votes matter.
4. How do families and upbringing impact voter turnout in the future?
If you are educated, reasonably affluent, a homeowner with kids, then chances are most of your neighbors and the people you speak to also vote. If you grow up in a poorer immigrant population, where many of your neighbors might not even be citizens, there is likely less social expectation and pressure to vote. If you grow up in an environment where you are told that voting is something that is expected of you and that it can make a difference, then you are far more likely to vote.
5. Why does having so many elections in the US cause turnout to decrease?
Voting in so many elections is fatiguing, and it makes it easier to slip into the habit of not voting at all.
6. How do political parties impact which people show up and vote?
Most of America’s elections are winner-take-all events in which only two major parties stand a chance. Many voters may decide they don’t agree with either of the two parties and stay home. But in America’s winner-take-all elections, the two parties don’t necessarily have incentive to turn out all voters. Instead, they focus most on turning out base supporters they know will be reliable votes for their side such as environmentalists or gun owners and they shy away from turning out voters that might vote unpredictably.
7. What is Oregon experimenting with to try to increase voter turnout?
Oregon is experimenting with voting by mail to allowing registration later and later in the year.
8. What would be the likely effect of turning Election Day into a giant festival?
It would boost voter turnout by cementing cultural norms around voting.
9. Why do mandatory voting laws work if the punishments are not bad?
They seem to work because they signal to people that voting is expected.
There were 241 million people of voting age, but only 130.2 million actually cast ballots in the general election, which make the turnout rate 58.6 percent! In the 2012 election, around 84 percent of registered voters cast a ballot.
2. How do state requirements to register ahead of time prevent people from voting?
The reason this prevents people from voting is because have to remember to register, often in advance, and the rules vary from place to place. Minnesota allows you to register on Election Day. In North Dakota, you don’t have to register at all. But in many other states, you have to register well in advance, which causes a huge problem because plenty of people seem to forget.
3. What reason do most people give for not participating in the election?
Many people simply say that they weren’t interested in voting at all, or disliked the candidates, or didn’t care. People just don’t think that their votes matter.
4. How do families and upbringing impact voter turnout in the future?
If you are educated, reasonably affluent, a homeowner with kids, then chances are most of your neighbors and the people you speak to also vote. If you grow up in a poorer immigrant population, where many of your neighbors might not even be citizens, there is likely less social expectation and pressure to vote. If you grow up in an environment where you are told that voting is something that is expected of you and that it can make a difference, then you are far more likely to vote.
5. Why does having so many elections in the US cause turnout to decrease?
Voting in so many elections is fatiguing, and it makes it easier to slip into the habit of not voting at all.
6. How do political parties impact which people show up and vote?
Most of America’s elections are winner-take-all events in which only two major parties stand a chance. Many voters may decide they don’t agree with either of the two parties and stay home. But in America’s winner-take-all elections, the two parties don’t necessarily have incentive to turn out all voters. Instead, they focus most on turning out base supporters they know will be reliable votes for their side such as environmentalists or gun owners and they shy away from turning out voters that might vote unpredictably.
7. What is Oregon experimenting with to try to increase voter turnout?
Oregon is experimenting with voting by mail to allowing registration later and later in the year.
8. What would be the likely effect of turning Election Day into a giant festival?
It would boost voter turnout by cementing cultural norms around voting.
9. Why do mandatory voting laws work if the punishments are not bad?
They seem to work because they signal to people that voting is expected.
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