New Report on Turnout Gaps in 2012 Election

We're pleased to announce that our new voter turnout report, Voter Participation Gaps in the 2012 Presidential Election, is now available. It is the latest in our America Goes to the Polls series and is based on the recently released biennial Census survey on voting and registration. The report tracks, analyzes, and explains prominent turnout gaps like:

• Age - 45% of youth (ages 18-29) turned out in 2012, down from 51% in 2008. 
• Household Income - There was a 15 point turnout gap between members of lower income and higher income households in 2012—the smallest it has been in the last four presidential elections. 
• Mobility - There was a 15 point turnout gap between individuals who had resided at their current address for less than a year (61%) and those who had resided at their current address for at least 5 years (76%). This disparity has decreased in recent presidential elections, though it remains around 33% in midterms. 
• Ethnicity - Black turnout (66%) exceeded non-Hispanic white turnout (64%) for the first time. Turnout among Latino and Asian-American voters (48% and 47%, respectively) continues to trail white and black turnout by 16 to 19 points. 

Our report, Can Nonprofits Increase Voting, demonstrates that nonprofits have the ability to close these and other voter turnout gaps. Learn more about voting gaps and then visit the resources section of our website to see how your nonprofit can help close them.

How Did Your State Do? 2012 State Turnout Rankings

In 2012, 58.7% of voting eligible citizens across the country turned out to vote in the presidential election. Turnout ranged from a high of 76.1% in Minnesota to a low of 44.5% in Hawaii. In total, 130.3 million voters cast ballots in 2012, about 2.3 million less than in 2008.

• Minnesota was first in voter turnout in 2012, while Maine (the 2010 title holder) fell to 6th place. Minnesota has led the country in voter turnout in eight of the last nine midterm and presidential elections.

• Five of the ten states with the highest turnout in 2012 have some form of Election Day Registration which allows voters to register or update their information on Election Day before casting a ballot: Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.

• Five of the ten states with the highest turnout in 2012 were swing states--Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wisconsin--where parties and interest groups invested extensive time and resources in media and mobilization.

• In contrast, five of the lowest turnout states have more burdensome registration requirements and are considered solidly Democratic or Republican--Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Of those five states, none had a margin of victory in the presidential race of less than 16 points, and Oklahoma had a spread of 34 points.

Where does your state fall in the rankings? 

Download America Goes to the Polls 2012 for more information on turnout and voting trends in the 2012 election.


Source: U.S. Elections Project. The table on the left ranks states by total ballots cast as a percent of eligible voters in the 2012 general election. 2008 turnout rank is in parentheses.

America Goes to the Polls 2012: State by State Turnout

With elections now certified in all 50 states, Nonprofit VOTE is pleased to release the latest edition of America Goes to the Polls--a report on national turnout and voting trends. Despite Hurricane Sandy and a slew of proposed or enacted state-level changes in voting procedures, an estimated 58.7% of eligible voters cast ballots on November 6th. Although turnout was below 2008's benchmark high, it still exceeded turnout for most presidential elections of the last 40 years--even in spite of steep drop off in hurricane-impacted states like New York and New Jersey. Here are other highlights from the report:

• Minnesota was number one in the country in voter turnout. Hawaii was last, while Wisconsin and Colorado came in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
• Seven of the top ten turnout states had Election Day Registration, swing state status or both. Voter turnout in Election Day Registration states was 12 points higher than in states without it.
• 96% of television ad spending went to ten battleground states--this number represents spending by presidential campaigns and allied groups between April 11th and November 6th.
• Voters continue to embrace early voting. National polls showed that 33-40% of voters voted early in-person or by mail, up from 31% in 2008 and 23% in 2004.
• Youth turnout is growing in both size and diversity. Young voters ages 18-29 increased their share of national voter turnout from 18% in 2008 to 19% in 2012. The percent of eligible young voters who are minorities rose to 42% in 2012.

Read the full report for additional information on 2012 turnout and historic trends.

New Report on Turnout Gaps in 2010 Midterm

We're pleased to announce that our new voter turnout report, Voter Participation Gaps in the 2010 Midterm Election, is now available! It is the latest in our America Goes to the Polls series, and is based on the newly released biennial Census survey on voting and registration. The report tracks, analyzes, and explains income, age, education, and disability voting gaps. Prominent turnout gaps include:

• Age - 24% of youth (ages 18-29) turned out in 2010, a sharp drop from 51.1% in 2008.
• Household Income - There was a 20 point turnout gap between members of lower income and higher income households.
• Educational Attainment - Only 35% of those with a high school diploma or less turned out in 2010, compared to 61% of those with a college degree or more.
• Mobility - There was a 34 point turnout gap between individuals who had resided in their home for less than a year (28%) and those who had resided in their home for at least 5 years (62%).
• Disability - The survey included data on voters with disabilities and found that turnout among individuals with hearing difficulty actually exceeded turnout for those with no disability by 4 points.

Download the report to learn more about voting gaps. Then visit the Resources section of our website to see how your nonprofit can help close them.