Only 36.4 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the midterm general election, marking the lowest voter turnout in 72 years.
The last time voter turnout was that low was in 1942 when only 33.9 percent of eligible Americans participated in the election just after the county had entered World War II, according to a projection by the United States Elections Project at the University of Florida.
Turnout in Maine, where both the incumbent governor and a senator were on the line, was the highest of the states with just over 59 percent of voters participating in the election. Indiana had the lowest turnout at just 28 percent.
While turnout is always lower in midterm elections than during presidential election years, voter interest in this election was at an extreme low despite a number of potentially competitive Senate races and controversial ballot initiatives. Midterm election turnout is also historically lower among groups that are more likely to support Democratic candidates, which was a significant factor in a number of surprising losses by Democrats across the county.
Newly implemented voter ID laws and other methods of voter suppression including shortened early voting periods also played a part in keeping people away from the polls. In Texas, voters were forced to cast twice as many provisional ballots compared to the previous midterm election, even as overall turnout dropped almost 4 percent. Despite the low national numbers, turnout did increase from 2010 in ten states this year, including Colorado where new voting rights legislation meant that every registered voter received a ballot in the mail.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) responded to the poor turnout on Friday by announcing he will propose a bill to make Election Day a federal holiday to make it easier for people to find the time to vote. His proposal follows a long line of lawmakers who have attempted similar election reforms— just two years ago, Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) introduced the Weekend Voting Act to make the election fall over a weekend, but the bill never made it past committee. And in 2005, then-Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John Kerry (D-MA) also sponsored a bill to give voters Election Day off from work.
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