Two mysteries preoccupy me with midterm elections looming: “Why don’t Americans vote?” and “What will motivate more of them to do so?” I finally did what friends always tell me to do whenever I ask rhetorical questions in exasperation: “Google it.”
I found out that roughly 89 million eligible Americans did not vote in the 2024 presidential election (several sources cite this figure). That’s about 36% of the 244 million eligible voters in this country. And that 89 million figure includes more than 18 million who were registered to vote but didn’t (roughly 155 million Americans did cast ballots).
Doing the math, that means 71 million eligible Americans are not even registered to vote. A staggering number.
In midterm elections, typically, turnout is even worse. In 2022, for instance, 37 million registered voters did not vote, more than twice the number from the 2024 election. According to the USA Facts website (which says they use Census Bureau data), the main reason given for not voting in the last midterm? Couldn’t find the time/conflicting schedules (27%) and “forgot” (8%).
Here are the reported reasons given for not voting in the 2024 presidential election: Lack of interest (20% — in 2004 that figure was 11%); Too busy (18%); Didn’t like the candidates (15%); Illness or disability (12%); Out of town (7%); Forgot (4%).
With due respect for the minority of non-voters in each of these categories who actually had legitimate reasons for not voting, most of these, I fairly sure, represent inadequate excuses and lame rationalizations. Even most of those who are ill, elderly, or disabled can vote from home these days with assistance. Voter suppression efforts by the Republicans deter enough people from voting to keep that pathetic personality cult competitive. And “lack of interest,” sadly, is at least an honest answer. Why they lack interest should provide social scientists with fertile ground for future studies.
Obviously we have a long way to go to redress the extremely disturbing reality of 71 million unregistered, eligible voters in this country. A glimpse into why some of the 18 million registered voters didn’t cast ballots for president in 2024 was provided (anecdotally) by an article in December of that year in The Guardian, which put out a call for non-voters to explain why.
Among respondents, the most popular reason given was the Electoral College — they didn’t vote because they live in a predominantly Blue or Red state and believed (erroneously) that their vote doesn’t matter. Some of them said they would have voted if they lived in a swing state.
Other responders said they voted in 2020 and 2016, but not 2024. Some abstained because the Biden administration too strongly supported the Israeli government/military during the devastating retribution against Gaza. One person left the presidential vote blank in 2020 “as a Quixotic protest against the Electoral College and my preference for Bernie Sanders.” A carpenter from Idaho decried politicians of both parties whom he saw as unwilling to make “a meaningful difference.” Many said neither candidate represented working- or middle-class interests or “the common voter.”
One despairing cynic said, “What’s the point of voting? They both hate the poor and serve their donors.” A former Trump supporter from Indiana said, “I refuse to put my name on either candidate when I know neither of them are the best we have to offer.” Yet another said, “This election seemed to have very little to do with my interests or concerns.”
Responders alleged that neither candidate offered a compelling vision of change. Others indicated they didn’t want to just vote against someone. One Republican tried to convince himself to vote for Kamala Harris but couldn’t do it. Another claimed, “No one wanted my vote enough.”
A 35-year-old male Black voter didn’t like Harris but regretted not voting for her. He thought Trump would lose. He didn’t vote in 2016 or 2020 either. His last cast ballot was for Obama in 2012.
A registered Republican from Texas said both candidates fell short of “the presidential standard.” A Midwest mother said neither candidate was left-wing enough for her. Bernie Sanders was the last candidate who excited her.
And some have lost hope in politics altogether: “Skip the debates. What a circus. I’m so sick of hearing about [polarized] politics.”
Reading this made me realize that the electorate is split into two fundamental factions: Active voters and Passive voters. Active voters would never consider not voting. Passive voters only consider voting when certain pre-conditions are met. If no candidate impresses, they abstain — meaning they have no vote at all, except for a silent, passive protest that goes unnoticed and unheeded. In some cases, the bar is set even higher. If their favored candidate isn’t on the ballot, why bother?
Active voters engage, considering it their responsibility to discern the candidate who is most likely to improve people’s lives, whereas passive voters are waiting for a dream candidate to show up in their inbox who “earns” their stamp of approval. If that candidate doesn’t magically appear, they don’t vote.
Active voters lead to better governance and a healthier nation. Passive voters lead to our current stagnant morass. They’re not voters, they’re consumers.
What can be done to light a fire under the electorate?
Coercion? Switzerland imposes a modest fine on those who don’t vote. In this country, such fines could fund a wider national effort to register more Americans.
Incentive? A tax exemption might motivate more people to cast ballots.
Persuasion? Maybe we should be bolder and ask family and friends about their voting plans whenever the conversation turns to upcoming elections.
Or do we simply shrug and yield to the current dysfunction and dissatisfaction, which defines democracy as having the absolute right to be an uninformed, indifferent, disillusioned and disengaged citizen?