Voter Turnout During Midterm Elections Explained Wednesday,
October 27, 2010 The 2008 election saw voters come out in record
numbers. But next week’s election is expected to draw far fewer
people to the polls, perhaps signaling a return to the
lackluster turnout we’ve seen for years. It’s a Free Country,
WNYC’s dedicated election Web site, has been looking at the
nitty-gritty of voter participation. Reporter Eileen Markey
joins Amy Eddings for a discussion about voter turnout. It’s
been understood that voter participation has been on the decline
for years. By and large Americans just aren’t terribly involved
in their democracy. But your reporting found that may not
actually be the case. Why not? I spoke to Michael McDonald, a
professor of government and politics at George Mason University.
He’s a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and his work
shows we’ve got the numbers all wrong. He analyzed turn out as a
percentage of eligible voters, not merely as a percentage of
people of voting age. Looking at tur