About 447,000 Wisconsin voters stayed home yesterday

[hfojvt]

How many regret that today?

In 2008, Obama beat McCain by 1,677,211 to 1,262,393 (total 2,939,604)

In 2012, Walker won by 1,332,692 to 1,160,245 (total 2,492,937)

With another 200,000 Obama voters, Barrett wins.

In 2004, Kerry got 1,489,504 votes. If all those Kerry voters come out for Barrett, he wins.

Of course, Walker did not get all the Bush voters either. Bush got 1,478,120 votes in 2004.

But looked at another way, another 359,693 people voted in this election. In 2010, Walker got 1,128,941 votes to Barrett's 1,004,303 (total 2,133,244).

Unfortunately, at this point, our side is no doubt exhausted and disgusted and disillusioned and dispirited, while the other side is exhausted and elated and euphoric, and some of those translate nationwide. It would be much nicer to head to November with the momentum with the affirmation. What we need is to turn this disappointment into determination. So that 400,000 people don't stay home in November.

[Indydem]

1. There are a lot of factors that play into that.

College students have gone home for the summer; many out of state.

Voters can and do change affiliation.

Some voters are one-time or specific issue voters (ex: electing the first black president).

And we know that some Obama voters voted for Walker for a number of reasons.

Yes, the voter totals did not equal those of a GE, but they weren't going to.

At least more came out to vote than in the2010 election, even if the result was the same.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. The effect of apathy , and how the 1% profits

should be easy to connect.

[warrior1]

3. out spent

and the politics of envy. They've convinced Democratic voters the union are thugs. Why vote would a democrat vote for walker?

[hfojvt]

7. when I studied voter results by precinct

I found that a fair number of people crossed party lines. The numbers showed that a fair amount would vote for a candidate from one party, but also for a candidate from another party.

In some ways that is encouraging, because it means we can win voters from the other side and people are not voting in lock step, but in other ways it is puzzling. I mean, why vote for Gore, and in a sense against the Bush tax cuts, but then also vote for a Congressperson who will support the Bush tax cuts, and oppose most other items of the Gore agenda? Perhaps it shows people voting for personalities rather than agendas.

[grantcart]

4. in the end we have to face the fact that there is aa vast

"Sleepy Majority" that just don't get involved much.

Until we really engage them we will always fall short.

Republicans have a nuch better record on non general election turn outs.

It is very disheartening.

[hfojvt]

6. these are people who voted in 2008 though

it says nothing about the people who did not vote in that, or any other election. In some sense, there is no way to know which way the non-voters would vote (those who didn't vote in 2008) There probably were enough McCain voters who didn't vote so that if they had all voted, McCain would have carried Wisconsin (assuming the Obama supporters still stayed home).

People seem to get more engaged about the Presidency than they do about a Governor's race much less a state legislator.

Heck, in my own primary election there were about 1,000 people who went to the polls and voted in the primary, but not in my race (for Congress). There were over 400 such people in Shawnee county alone, and I had advertised in the Topeka paper for a week prior to the election. So it can even be tough to engage even the people who are already engaged enough to vote in a primary. Maybe they were looking for my yard signs.

[shcrane71]

5. Make your friends, neighbors, co-workers come out of the closet.

Ask people what their political affiliation is. I was just in Europe, and that was the first question asked of me. It makes sense.

If people realize that their neighbors, and sisters, and brothers, and even mothers and fathers are Democrats and *shudder* Liberals, then it's not so scary anymore. Hell, look at how gays may be able to legally marry? It's because brave gays and lesbians came out of the closet, and people became less afraid, and confronted their own bigotry. If enough Liberals did this, we may be gain the right to have our votes counted.

It could happen.