# How big was the turnout, exactly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154 "2004-11-05T10:28:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/1 "2004-11-05T10:28:08Z")
I’ve seen statistics in the past on the embarrassingly low percetage of potential voters who actually turned out to vote. Well, now we’ve had a record year. But I haven’t seen (that I could find) numbers on just how well we did. Apparently 115,729,507 (well ok, that includes Nadar, but not other third parties or write-ins) people voted…what percentage of eligible voters is that? (And while I’m here…is there any way to find listing of who people wrote in this year? Would be interesting socialogical information.) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/2 "2004-11-05T14:39:29Z")
According to [this CNN story](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/03/voter.turnout.ap/), an estimated 60% of eligible voters turned out, the highest percentage in nearly 30 years, at roughly 120 million people. > [@](#): > > [Director of the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate Curtis] > Gans put the total turnout at nearly 120 million people. That represents just under 60 percent of eligible voters – the highest percentage turnout since 1968, Gans said As for write-ins and minor-party people, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/3 "2004-11-05T15:28:28Z")
Our local news reported that Minnesota had the highest percentage of any state for eligible voter turnout. We were at 77%. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/4 "2004-11-05T17:25:37Z")
Sheesh. 40% (let’s see, 48 million) voters stayed home and that’s considered good. Pretty sad, innit? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/5 "2004-11-05T17:26:45Z")
Oh, and, thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/6 "2004-11-05T18:12:24Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > Sheesh. 40% (let’s see, 48 million) voters stayed home and that’s considered good. Pretty sad, innit? And only 17% of voters age 18-30 voted. They consider themselves the future leaders of the country, but could not bother to vote. If even half of them voted, Kerry would probably now be president. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/7 "2004-11-05T18:21:52Z")
I believe that the youngest voters have always had the lowest turnout historically. I don’t know how this election compares to other elections, but that’s just the way it’s been. When I was in college, a lot of my classmates didn’t bother to vote. And that was 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/8 "2004-11-05T18:55:13Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > I believe that the youngest voters have always had the lowest turnout historically. I don’t know how this election compares to other elections, but that’s just the way it’s been. > > When I was in college, a lot of my classmates didn’t bother to vote. And that was 20 years ago. Yes, but in this election the 18-30 crowd were very local in condemning Bush and the Iraq war. You would think that if they were so irked with Bush they would have taken the time to vote for Kerry. ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian0117](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Hadrian0117](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian0117)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/9 "2004-11-05T19:06:02Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Yes, but in this election the 18-30 crowd were very vocal in condemning Bush and the Iraq war. You would think that if they were so irked with Bush they would have taken the time to vote for Kerry. I’m a college student and I’m completetly digusted by a few people my age bother to vote. We’re the ones that will live with the consequences of the decisions being made by our gov’t longer than anyone else (who is _currently_) old enough to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/10 "2004-11-05T20:31:55Z")
Are you sure that turnout in the 18-29 age group was 17%? The CNN exit poll suggests that 17% of voters were 18-29 (and 29% were 30-44, 30% were 45-59, and 24% were 60 and older). This is different than 17% of eligible voters between 18 and 29 actually voting. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Stranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Time\_Stranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Stranger)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/11 "2004-11-05T21:09:21Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > And only 17% of voters age 18-30 voted. They consider themselves the future leaders of the country, but could not bother to vote. If even half of them voted, Kerry would probably now be president. According to an email I got from the Rock the Vote campaign today, 51.6% of the eligible voters between the ages of 18-29 voted. The numbers are also listed on their website, [www.rockthevote.com](http://www.rockthevote.com). From the email: > [@](#): > > Close to 21 million people between the ages of 18 and 29 voted—that’s nearly 5 million more than in 2000, and more than half of all young people in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-the-turnout-exactly/273154/12 "2004-11-05T21:57:49Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Yes, but in this election the 18-30 crowd were very **local** in condemning Bush and the Iraq war. You would think that if they were so irked with Bush they would have taken the time to vote for Kerry. I think you meant “vocal”, but anywho… These are usually considered the vocal minority. The way you put it, kinda states that most of the 18-30 crowd despised Bush, when that may, or may not be true. P. Diddy polls don’t represent whole country.