Voter Turnout For This Election Was The Lowest In 20 Years

We all know that Donald J. Trump will be our next president, but finding out how the biggest upset in presidential election history happened will take some time. It is no secret that, prior to the election, the majority of polls predicted that Trump had little to no chance of victory, but it still happened. In the days after the election, one interesting aspect that many people are commenting on is voter turnout. While it's the case that many people are rejecting the election outright through social media or in physical protests, it is also the case that nearly half of eligible voters in the United States didn't vote. 
How is this possible? Another — perhaps more interesting — question is whether this affected the outcome of the election.

Leave a COMMENT on Facebook letting us know what you think about voter turnout this year. 

Unless you have a criminal record or are under the age of 18, every American has a right to vote for who becomes president. 

Donald Trump voted.

Hillary Clinton voted.

But voter turnout was lower than predicted this year, being at its lowest in 20 years. 

A boost in voting for both parties took place over the 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections. Perhaps a lack of voter enthusiasm or the perception of an inevitable Trump loss contributed to a lower turnout. It's hard to say...

Half of the eligible voter base did not show up.

Is this out of the ordinary? And could it have possibly contributed to Trump becoming the president-elect?

Donald Abelson, a professor of political science at Western University, Ontario, told Global News that the lower voter turnout may have boosted Trump to a win, even though Clinton won the popular vote. 

“Democrats tend to do well when there’s big voter turnout, so that could have helped,” Abelson said. He even believes that the Trump campaign intentionally aimed to reduce Democratic voter turnout to take advantage of this fact. 

It's still mindblowing to think that one of the most historic elections in modern history was associated with this low of a voter turnout, especially considering the record viewer totals for the presidential debates.

Perhaps a better awareness of early voting methods would be beneficial, as many people are busy on election day and may end up not going to the polls because of the inconvenience and the perception that a single vote may not really count. 

At the end of the day, voting is probably one of the most important ways we can participate in our democracy.

Yes, a single vote can matter!

SHARE this article with your friends on Facebook. It's hard to believe this percentage of people didn't vote in such a historic election.