By the time Stephenson County’s polling places closed at 7pm on November 8th, 2016, 57.9% of the county’s voting-age population had cast a ballot in the 2016 general election.
This matched the nation-wide trend; nearly 56% of the nation’s voting-age population cast a ballot in 2016.
Voter turnout is a measurement of how many people vote in an election. Low turnout has been a consistent problem in recent election years; for example, around 137 million Americans over the age of 18 did not vote in the 2016 election.
Nearly 15,000 Stephenson County adults did not vote in 2016.
Stephenson County also followed national trends in 2018. In that election, 47.2% of the county’s voting-age population went to the polls. This was slightly better than the national voter turnout of 46.3%. However, it does mean that 18,500 voting-age adults did not cast a ballot.
The county’s voters also outperformed the national trend in the 2014 midterm election. 41% of the area’s voting-age adults voted, compared to 37% nationally.
For context, American voter turnout levels are low compared to other countries which, like America, are democracies with highly developed economies. For instance, US allies Germany, France, and the United Kingdom see voter turnout levels over 60%. Democracies such as Belgium, South Korea, and Israel have recorded turnout levels over 75%.
With a COVID-19 vaccine not expected until 2021, predictions about the November 2020 election remain unclear. Some primary elections have seen deflated turnout numbers, while others have set turnout records.
All election results, including the data used in this article, can be found in publicly available records at the Stephenson County Clerk’s website.
