Talk Elections

VOTER TURNOUT
2008 Presidential Election

Kind of interesting that Barack Obama and John McCain's home states ranked so low on the list; in fact, lower than Joe Biden and Sarah Palin's home states.

1. Minnesota (78.48%)
2. Wisconsin (72.86%)
3. Maine (72.65%)
4. New Hampshire (72.16%)
5. Colorado (70.47%)
6. Iowa (70.17%)
7. Michigan (69.38%)
8. Missouri (68.76%)
9. Alaska (68.52%)
10. Oregon (68.47%)
11. Virginia (68.23%)
12. Maryland (68.18%)
13. Florida (68.03%)
14. Connecticut (67.96%)
15. Washington (67.72%)
16. Ohio (67.59%)
17. Montana (67.10%)
18. Vermont (67.05%)
19. New Jersey (66.90%)
20. Massachusetts (66.69%)
21. North Carolina (66.47%)
22. Delaware (66.42%)
23. North Dakota (65.96%)
24. Wyoming (65.77%)
25. Pennsylvania (64.86%)
26. South Dakota (64.72%)
27. Idaho (64.53%)
28. Nebraska (63.48%)
29. Illinois (63.43%)
30. Kansas (63.08%)
31. Rhode Island (63.02%)
32. Louisiana (62.68%)
33. California (62.49%)
34. Alabama (61.96%)
35. Georgia (61.66%)
36. Mississippi (61.62%)
37. District of Columbia (60.90%)
38. New Mexico (60.56%)
39. Indiana (60.55%)
40. Kentucky (58.88%)
41. South Carolina (58.77%)
42. Nevada (58.69%)
43. New York (58.57%)
44. Tennessee (57.76%)
45. Oklahoma (57.30%)
46. Arizona (56.66%)
47. Texas (55.20%)
48. Utah (54.34%)
49. Arkansas (53.90%)
50. West Virginia (51.90%)
51. Hawaii (50.73%)

Calculated as a percentage of what? Registered voters? VAP? Population theoretically entitled to vote (est.)?

% of registered voters almost certainly

Doubtful. Looks like VAP to me.

Assuming it is, here is the swing in turnout from 2004 by state:

1. California (+14.8%)
2. New Jersey (+11.4%)
3. North Carolina (+11.1%)
4. Virginia (+11.0%)
5. District of Columbia (+10.9%)
6. Rhode Island (+10.5%)
7. Maryland (+10.4%)
8. Georgia (+10.0%)
9. Florida (+9.9%)
10. Nevada (+8.7%)
11. Texas (+8.5%)
12. Connecticut (+8.4%)
13. New York (+8.2%)
14. Massachusetts (+7.8%)
15. Colorado (+7.7%)
16. Illinois (+7.4%)
17. Mississippi (+7.2%)
18. Arizona (+7.1%)
19. South Carolina (+7.0%)
20. Indiana (+6.9%)
21. Alabama (+6.5%)
22. Hawaii (+6.0%)
23. Washington (+6.0%)
24. Delaware (+5.8%)
25. New Mexico (+5.5%)
26. Michigan (+5.2%)
27. Missouri (+5.2%)
28. Kansas (+4.5%)
29. Pennsylvania (+4.4%)
30. Idaho (+4.3%)
31. Minnesota (+4.3%)
32. Louisiana (+4.2%)
33. Nebraska (+3.5%)
34. Iowa (+3.3%)
35. New Hampshire (+3.1%)
36. Tennessee (+3.0%)
37. Montana (+2.9%)
38. Arkansas (+2.3%)
39. Ohio (+2.3%)
40. Vermont (+2.2%)
41. North Dakota (+1.8%)
42. Oklahoma (+1.7%)
43. Wyoming (+1.7%)
44. Kentucky (+1.4%)
45. Oregon (+0.7%)
46. Alaska (+0.5%)
47. Wisconsin (+0.4%)
48. Maine (-0.1%)
49. West Virginia (-1.4%)
50. Utah (-3.4%)
51. South Dakota (-3.5%)

Actually, the colors should be the other way around. Meh. I went off of the OP and was messed up. Sigh.

That would make me pleasently surprised :)

It looks like the %age of the VEP:

Detailed turnout breakdown:

http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html

Interesting that more than 40% of Californians are unable to vote.

:(

Disregard my last list. Here are the top and bottom ten swings by %VAP.

1. North Carolina (+6.0%)
2. District of Columbia (+5.2%)
3. Virginia (+5.2%)
4. Mississippi (+4.8%)
5. Rhode Island (+4.7%)
6. South Carolina (+4.1%)
7. Alabama (+3.6%)
8. Indiana (+3.6%)
9. Maryland (+3.3%)
10. Georgia (+3.0%)
...
42. Idaho (-1.6%)
43. Arizona (-2.2%)
44. Oklahoma (-2.3%)
45. Maine (-2.6%)
46. West Virginia (-3.4%)
47. Wisconsin (-3.4%)
48. Alaska (-3.8%)
49. South Dakota (-5.4%)
50. Oregon (-5.5%)
51. Utah (-7.7%)

21 States decreased turnout, 2 remained the same, and 28 increased. California, which no longer leads the list, still came in 12th overall, right behind New Jersey, which was second.

Wow, look at the Upper South.  Didn't they used to LEAD these kinds of categories?  Doesn't seem like they have anyone to turn to anymore.  Pretty awful. 

Especially WV.... no normal world should have that state as the 2nd lowest in turnout... and by a full 2%... over ARKANSAS!  These are people who might have the most interest in turning out.  There is some truth to saying the Dems have to get back to economics and let the social stuff work itself out like it always does. 

EDIT: on the bright side, nice to see NJ make a nice improvement.  Makes sense though.... there are a lot of rich, Republican, get-the-feds-off-my-back types in the wealthy areas of North Jersey (kinda why I was always saying that Obama clearly had a ceiling in NJ, despite any other swings in the Northeast.  He could've pulled 65% nationwide and he STILL wouldn't have topped 58-59% in Jersey) that would LOVE McCain and at the same time a ton of West Coast type liberals around Princeton and other college towns that went nuts for Obama. 

Utah blows my mind a little.  Mormons seem like the sort of conformist cultural subset that would have high voter turnout even among lower middle class people.

Otherwise, not too many surprises to me.  (Missouri?)

Not only was it low, but it fell the most of any state from 2004.

That's not surprising. The Bible issues (abortion/gay marriage) weren't on the front burner this election so the Mormons probably didn't feel as mobilized to turn out and vote for the maverick McCain in the same way as they did for the "evangelical Christian" Bush.

I'm surprised at NY.

And Romney lost. :)

I know the value of anecdotal "evidence," but the only Mormon I've spoken to about the election said she voted for Obama- and it was her first time voting. Why? She was "worried about the economy," although she acknowledged that most Mormons vote on "those other issues."

Kinda odd that McCain's states didn't have nearly as nice of a turnout.