"Voter turnout dropped across the country in the 2012 election, but the
decline in rural counties was twice that of the nation as a whole," the Daily Yonder reports. "And
most of that decline came from Democratic totals." (Yonder chart)
"Rural residents still voted more than those in the cities, but the
decline is remarkable. And, as the county groups grow less urban, the
turnout decline grows larger," Bill Bishop and Roberto Gallardo write. Why? They asked James Gimpel, a University of Maryland political scientist, to examine rural counties with fewer that 10,000 people, and he said, “Neither of the candidates inspired rural voters to go vote, although
there was even less enthusiasm for Obama than there was for Romney.”
But that doesn't really explain why there was such a decline in rural turnout. What was it about Obama, Romney and their contest that kept so many rural people from voting? Comment below.
UPDATE, Dec. 5: The Yonder takes one of the essays from a new book to help explain why rural turnout has declined: Politicians just don't spend as much time in rural areas as they once did. The essay is from Kentucky Cured: Fifty Years in Kentucky Journalism, by Al Smith, co-founder of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which publishes The Rural Blog.
But that doesn't really explain why there was such a decline in rural turnout. What was it about Obama, Romney and their contest that kept so many rural people from voting? Comment below.
3 comments:
No national candidate had any understanding of rural America during the primary season and certainly neither candidate for president did. It is also obvious that most members of Congress have no knowledge of rural America and do not know the difference between the suburbs and farming and ranching company. Rural Americans feel more and more alienated, and ignored, by the national government. If drought next year, and perhaps in coming years, starts to severely limit the food supply, maybe career politicians will wake up and realize where breakfast, lunch and dinner come from.
In Hickman County, Tenn., the total vote was down by 891 ballots this November compared to four years ago. Obama had 870 fewer votes; the Republican nominee had 8 fewer this year compared to 2008. Doesn't that say Republicans were just as strong while Democrat/Independent enthusiasm waned? Total turnout here among registered voters was 54.5 percent this year compared to 60.6 percent four years ago.
In Hickman County, Tenn., the total vote was down by 891 ballots this November compared to four years ago. Obama had 870 fewer votes; the Republican nominee had 8 fewer this year compared to 2008. Doesn't that say Republicans were just as strong while Democrat/Independent enthusiasm waned? Total turnout here among registered voters was 54.5 percent this year compared to 60.6 percent four years ago.
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