America Goes to the Polls 2012: A Report on Voter Turnout in the 2012 Election

Abstract

All 50 states have certified their results. The 2012 presidential election is officially in the books. The election survived Hurricane Sandy and a blizzard of proposed or enacted state level changes in voting procedures. An estimated 58.7% of eligible voters turned out to vote, below 2008's benchmark high but still above most presidential elections of the last 40 years in spite of a steep drop off in turnout in hurricane-impacted New York and New Jersey.Minnesota first in turnout, Hawaii last* Minnesota was number one in the country in voter turnout asit has been for eight of the last nine national elections Wisconsin came in 2nd with Colorado rising to 3rd.* The nation's most populous states -- California (41st), New York (44th) and Texas(48th) -- ranked in the bottom ten, dragging down national turnout.Swing States and Election Day registration states are highest in turnout* Seven of the top ten turnoutstates had Election Day registration orswing state status or both.* In 2012 voter turnout in states with Election Day registration -- where voters can register or update their registration on Election Day -- was 12 points higher than in those without that option, a turnout advantage consistent over the last six national elections.* Voter turnout in the ten swing states most targeted by campaigns was 65%,seven points higher than in non-swingstates, which had an average turnout of 58%.Presidential campaigns target just 10 states, ignore the other 40* 96% of the spending on television ads between April 11th and November 6th by presidential campaigns and allied groups went to ten battleground states.* Nearly six times as much ad money was spent in Florida alone than was spent in the 40 non-swing states and DC.* 99% of campaigns stops by the presidential or vice presidential candidates were in these states.Voters continue to embrace Early Voting* National polls showed 33-40% of voters voted early in-person or by mail, up from 31% in 2008 and 23% in 2004.* The rise in early voting came despite reductionsin early voting hoursin Florida and Ohio. Fewer early voting hours contributed to 225,000 fewer voters in Florida taking advantage of in-person early voting and long lines at the polls on Election Day.Youth turnout grows in size and diversity* Young voters ages 18-29 surprised observers by increasing theirshare of national voter turnout from 18% to 19%.* The percent of eligible young voters whose ethnicity is Latino, black or other than non-Hispanic white grew to 42% last year. In comparison, the same population 30 and over formed a 24% share of the vote.For the first time one in ten voters were Latino* 10 percent of the electorate turning out to vote was Hispanic. That figure was even higher in some western states, including the battleground states of Colorado (14%) and Nevada (18%).* Latinos will account for 40% of the growth in the eligible electorate in the U.S. between now and 2030, doubling in size.* Black voters were 13% of the electorate and their turnout rate may have exceeded that of whites forthe first time in 2012