I posted this on Facebook but I thought it might be fun to post this here to help get the ball rolling. Any thoughts about why so many Americans refused to vote in 2014?

My takeaway from the 2014 general election? Both parties (but especially the Democrats) should be embarrassed at total voter turnout. Looks like roughly 36% of registered Indiana voters turned out, the lowest turnout in the country. Maine led the way with a scorching 59.3% turnout (I say that in jest). 50% of Floridians voted (I just heard that on NPR) and roughly half of those came from early voting.

So winning an election made up of less then 50% of registered American voters should really give pause to everyone involved. Are the results even legitimate (I know mechanically they are)? Heck, Gallop noted before the election that 27% of the people planned NOT to vote all before the election! And then another additional 23% or so also failed to turn out.

Does that make anyone feel good about our process, our fellow Americans or our government? Not me. I get the idea that if you don’t vote you lose your ability to bitch. But I think it is also safe to say (and accurate) that so many folks are just so turned off on the choices and our process that they do have that they feel like voting has no impact at all. That is my guess at least as I know Americans work harder then anyone in the world (so I DON’T think it is being lazy).

“Moreover, the 41% of U.S. adults saying they have given “quite a lot” or “some” thought to this year’s election is the lowest Gallup has recorded on the eve of any of the last six midterms. The 58% saying they are absolutely certain they will vote ties with 1998 for the lowest….The clearest indication that turnout will be lower than four years ago is that more than a quarter of U.S. adults — 27% — say they do not plan to vote in this year’s election, up from 20% in 2010. This does not mean that all others will in fact vote, but it is a useful metric to gauge relative turnout across elections.”
http://www.gallup.com/poll/179147/voters-especially-independents-lack-interest-election.aspx

http://bluenationreview.com/2014-saw-lowest-voter-turnout-since-1940/