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2010 Voter Turnout: Not Good

Sunday, November 7th, 2010

NYT Headline

We wish the above New York Times headline said “Why Tuesday Was Terrible For Voters,” because it would be totally true.

Despite great enthusiasm and predictions of higher voter turnout, 2010 midterm elections were only a slight improvement from the 2006 midterms, when just over 40% of voters headed to the polls. This time around the total was 41.5% according to Michael McDonald at George Mason University.

Young voters stayed at home in greater numbers than in recent elections, and an entire third of voters who came out in 2008 didn’t show on Tuesday.

It’s time to start a loud national conversation about changing America’s dismal voter participation, staring with the day we vote. San Francisco is doing it. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg talking about it. We hope you’ll join us in making election reform an issue our elected officials cannot afford to avoid.

- Jacob Soboroff

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About Us

Why Tuesday? is a non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2005 to find solutions to increase voter turnout and participation in elections... More

The Answer

In 1845, before Florida, California, and Texas were states or slavery had been abolished, Congress needed to pick a time for Americans to vote... More

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There is no doubt in my mind that there would be higher voter turnout on Saturday than Tuesday. Most people work on Tuesday, and getting to the polls (usually before or after work) and often standing in long lines can be a time-consuming hassle...

Posted by henry swedlaw on blog post Why Do We Vote On Tuesday?