Record-low turnout for midterm primaries could reflect increasing voter apathy

Voter turnout down by roughly 50 percent in the last 50 years

Image Credits: Tom Arthur via Wikimedia Commons

by JC Sevcik | UPI | July 21, 2014

A survey of voter rolls shows record-low voter turnout in 15 of the first 25 statewide primaries for this midterm election.

The non-profit, non-partisan Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University’s School of Public Affairs reported only 14.8 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the first 25 state primaries, down from 18.3 percent in the 2010 midterm elections.
That’s about 18.2 million ballots from a pool of some 122.8 million eligible voters.
According to the CSAE, Democratic turnout sas fallen more dramatically than Republican turnout, with Dems down 29 percent from 8.7 percent in 2010 to 6.1 percent in 2014. The GOP’s decline wasn’t as drastic, dropping from 9.6 percent to 8.2 percent.
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