People around the country can pass judgment on their government Nov. 6 in the first national election in two years — if they’re registered to vote, and cast a ballot.
Many will not, if recent history holds true. Only about 60 percent of U.S. adult citizens voted in the last national election, a turnout that ranked in the bottom third of the world’s developed countries.

Share of adult citizens
who voted in 2016
Average
turnout
Lowest
Highest
45%
55
65
75
Population
No data
Minnesota had the highest statewide
turnout (74%), followed by Colorado (73%)
and New Hampshire (72%).
WA
ME
MN
OR
NY
PA
WV
CO
CA
KY
NC
TN
OK
AZ
AK
NM
GA
TX
FL
AK
HI
Hawaii had the lowest statewide
turnout (43%), followed by West Virginia
(50%) and Tennessee (51%).
Note: Alaska, represented with
statewide data, had 60% turnout.

Share of adult citizens who voted in 2016
Average
turnout
Lowest
Highest
Population
No data
45%
55
65
75
Minnesota had the highest
statewide turnout (74%),
followed by Colorado (73%)
and New Hampshire (72%).
WASH.
MAINE
MONT.
N.D.
VT.
MINN.
ORE.
N.H.
S.D.
IDAHO
WIS.
MASS.
N.Y.
—R.I.
MICH.
WYO.
CONN.
PENN.
IOWA
N.J.
NEB.
NEV.
OHIO
MD.
DEL.
IND.
ILL.
UTAH
COLO.
W.VA.
CALIF.
VA.
KAN.
MO.
KY.
N.C.
TENN.
ARIZ.
OKLA.
S.C.
ARK.
N.M.
GA.
MISS.
ALA.
LA.
TEXAS
FLA.
ALASKA
HAWAII
Hawaii had the
lowest statewide
turnout (43%), followed
by West Virginia (50%)
and Tennessee (51%).
Note: Alaska, represented with
statewide data, had 60% turnout.

Share of adult citizens who voted in 2016
Average
turnout
Lowest
Highest
Population
No data
45%
55
65
75
Minnesota has the highest
statewide turnout (74%),
followed by Colorado (73%)
and New Hampshire (72%).
Seattle
WASH.
MAINE
MONT.
N.D.
VT.
MINN.
ORE.
N.H.
Boston
Minneapolis
S.D.
IDAHO
WIS.
MASS.
N.Y.
MICH.
—R.I.
CONN.
WYO.
Detroit
New York
Chicago
PENN.
Salt Lake City
IOWA
N.J.
NEB.
San
Francisco
NEV.
OHIO
MD.
DEL.
IND.
Denver
ILL.
Washington D.C.
UTAH
COLO.
W.VA.
St. Louis
CALIF.
VA.
KAN.
MO.
KY.
N.C.
TENN.
Los Angeles
ARIZ.
OKLA.
S.C.
ARK.
Atlanta
N.M.
Phoenix
GA.
Dallas
MISS.
ALA.
LA.
TEXAS
Houston
FLA.
ALASKA
Miami
HAWAII
Hawaii had the lowest
statewide turnout (43%),
followed by West Virginia (50%)
and Tennessee (51%).
Note: Alaska, represented with statewide data, had 60% turnout.
Turnout in 2016 was especially low in almost a thousand U.S. counties. Most of them form a geographic belt that curves from upstate New York, down along the Appalachians, across Tennessee and into the Southwest. But 2018 has brought statewide races predicted to be competitive to the heart of the low-voting belt, in West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. The November results will be studied for signs of closer races and greater voter involvement to come in 2020.
These maps show a turnout percentage based on two numbers for each county: ballots cast in the 2016 presidential race and the estimated population of voting-age citizens. Among the low-voting counties, those with turnout of 55 percent or less, there are some striking differences.
For example, low-voting areas span the entire urban-rural spectrum. On the map, rural areas and small towns may dominate visually. But there are far more potential votes in low-turnout metropolitan counties.
Fifteen large central metro counties with low 2016 turnout
County | City | Turnout |
---|---|---|
Norfolk City, Va. | Norfolk | 44% |
Bexar County, Tex. | San Antonio | 48% |
Bronx County, N.Y. | Bronx, New York City | 48% |
Queens County, N.Y. | Queens, New York City | 50% |
Kings County, N.Y. | Brooklyn, New York City | 50% |
Shelby County, Tenn. | Memphis | 51% |
Harris County, Tex. | Houston | 52% |
Riverside County, Calif. | Riverside | 52% |
Baltimore City, Md. | Baltimore | 52% |
Davidson County, Tenn. | Nashville | 52% |
Dallas County, Tex. | Dallas | 52% |
Oklahoma County, Okla. | Oklahoma City | 53% |
Tarrant County, Tex. | Fort Worth | 54% |
Richmond County, N.Y. | Staten Island, New York City | 54% |
St. Louis City, Mo. | St. Louis | 55% |
There are low-voting counties even in the cores of some of the nation’s largest urban areas, including four of New York City’s five boroughs, as well as part or all of Houston, Dallas, Memphis, St. Louis, Baltimore and Oklahoma City.
They also vary in their racial makeup. Low-turnout counties include more than 400 that are predominantly (more than 80 percent) white. But in another 200, nonwhites are a majority, often including a significant Hispanic population.

Majority non-white counties
with low voter turnout
Predominantly white counties
with low voter turnout

Majority non-white counties
with low voter turnout
Predominantly white counties
with low voter turnout

Majority non-white counties
with low voter turnout
Predominantly white counties
with low voter turnout
There are demographic traits that consistently set apart places where people don't vote. The most well-known is education. In more than 700 low-turnout counties, a majority of people had attained only a high school diploma or less schooling. In comparison, education beyond high school is far more common among high-voting counties.

Share of counties with low, average or high turnout
in 2016, by education level
0
50
100%
Least educated
counties
Most educated
counties

Share of counties with low, average or high turnout
in 2016, by education level
0
20
40
60
80
100%
Least educated
counties
Most educated
counties

Share of counties with low, average or high turnout
in 2016, by education level
0
20
40
60
80
100%
Least educated
counties
Most educated
counties

Share of counties with low, average or high turnout in 2016, by education level
0
20
40
60
80
100%
Least educated
counties
Most educated
counties
The map also highlights stark differences between states, with high-voting areas just across the border of low-voting states such as West Virginia and Tennessee. In some cases, states differ in how convenient it is to register and vote. Six of the top seven highest-voting states allow voters to register on Election Day. In Colorado, Oregon and Washington, residents get a ballot by mail, and can vote by mailing it back.
Stark differences in neighboring states also reflect in part the differing culture and traditions in areas such as civic involvement and in minority relations, said Jay Barth, a politics professor at Hendrix College in Arkansas.

Share of adult citizens
who voted in 2016
Average
turnout
Lowest
Highest
45%
55
65
75
Tennessee and North Carolina
N.C.
TENN.
Missouri and Arkansas
MO.
ARK.
Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia
OHIO
W.VA.
VA.

Share of adult citizens who voted in 2016
Average
turnout
Lowest
Highest
45%
55
65
75
N.C.
TENN.
Tennessee and North Carolina
MO.
OHIO
W.VA.
ARK.
VA.
Missouri and Arkansas
Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia

Share of adult citizens who voted in 2016
Average
turnout
Lowest
Highest
St. Louis
45%
55
65
75
MO.
OHIO
N.C.
TENN.
W.VA.
ARK.
VA.
Missouri and Arkansas
Tennessee and North Carolina
Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia
For midterm elections like 2018, turnout is even worse than in presidential years, lower by about 20 percentage points, and trending down. Since 1800, there have been only three midterms with turnout lower than in the last midterm in 2014, according to figures compiled by Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida.
But McDonald and others are expecting higher turnout in November. And some are looking for signs that 2018 marks a shift in voter participation that changes the nation’s political map. There are more competitive races, and voters are paying more attention.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that voters are significantly more interested in voting than they were four years ago. It was especially true for young people under 25, whose turnout in 2016 lagged the national average by 18 percentage points, and for nonwhites.
As of Tuesday, Cook Political Report rated 72 House races as competitive, dozens more than in the same week of 2014. Those competitive districts include part or all of 121 counties that were low-voting.

Where low-turnout counties
intersect competitive House races
W.Va. 3rd District
Trump won here
by almost 50 points,
but analysts consider
the House race
competitive.
WA
MT
NY
NV
OH
IL
WV
VA
UT
KS
CA
KY
NC
NM
AZ
SC
AR
TX
Tex. 23rd District
A noteworthy Texas
Senate matchup
could drive turnout
in this toss-up
border district.
N.M. 2nd District
Higher Hispanic
turnout could aid
the Democrat in this
Trump +10 district.

Where low-turnout counties intersect competitive House races
WASH.
MONT.
N.Y.
N.M. 2nd District
Higher Hispanic
turnout could aid
the Democrat in this
Trump +10 district.
NEV.
OHIO
ILL.
W.VA.
VA.
UTAH
CALIF.
KAN.
KY.
N.C.
N.M.
ARIZ.
S.C.
ARK.
TEXAS
W.Va. 3rd District
Trump won here
by almost 50 points,
but analysts consider
the House race
competitive.
Tex. 23rd District
A noteworthy Texas
Senate matchup could
drive turnout in this
toss-up border district.

Where low-turnout counties intersect competitive House races
WASH.
MONT.
N.Y.
NEV.
OHIO
N.M. 2nd District
Higher Hispanic turnout
could aid the Democrat in
this Trump +10 district.
ILL.
W.VA.
VA.
UTAH
KAN.
CALIF.
KY.
N.C.
N.M.
ARIZ.
S.C.
W.Va. 3rd District
Trump won here
by almost 50 points,
but analysts consider
the House race
competitive.
ARK.
TEXAS
Tex. 23rd District
A noteworthy Texas
Senate matchup could
drive turnout in this
toss-up border district.
More competitive races could fuel greater voter participation because competition drives voter interest. More close races could even push up turnout in swing states where tiny winning margins of a fraction of one percentage point showed in 2016 how relatively few votes could be decisive. President Trump won Wisconsin by 0.8 of a percentage point, Pennsylvania by 0.7 and in Michigan by only 0.2.
“There is something that happens from living in a state where there is actually campaign activity, and voters sense that their vote matters, because the parties have invested time in running advertisements and reaching out to them,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Those sharp state lines that appear on the voting map, often following the boundaries between states with competitive races and those without, could begin to blur.
“It will be interesting to see if turnout is up in some of those places this year because they have become competitive after long periods of not being competitive,” Burden said. “That may be kind of a signal as to what we might see in the next electoral college vote where some of these states come into play.”
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About this story
Population data from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey and voting data from Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Race ratings from the Cook Political Report as of Oct. 23.
Large central metro counties are in the core of metropolitan areas with a population of at least one million.
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