Voter Turnout in GA-06 was only 58%

[MineralMan]

What that means is that 42% of registered voters in that congressional district did not care who won. 58%. And even more don't care enough to even register to vote.

Low turnout is the essential problem of politics in this country. That is the flaw that skews our elections, one way or another. Low turnout is endemic in our political system, which means that the party that motivates voters to turn out in higher numbers wins.

How can Democrats become that party. That's the real question we all need to answer. How can we fix low turnout?

The answer will vary from place to place and from district to district, but it is the answer we need.

42% of registered voters in GA-06 did not care who won. That's shocking, as far as I'm concerned. We need to fix that before we fix anything else, I think.

The Democratic Party needs to become "The Party That Votes!" Can we do that? If we can, we'll be unbeatable.

ETA: Later turnout information has been provide. I have changed the numbers to reflect that. My position about turnout, though, remains the same.

[Gothmog]

1. Low turnout is common in special elections

This was higher than normal turnout for a special.

In Texas, I would be happy to get to 40% turnout in mid terms. Due to voter id and voter suppression the turnout in Texas in 2014 was 33%

[MineralMan]

4. Yes, I know that. But, what if we could fix that?

What if the Democratic Party focused year-round and everywhere on turnout? See, I don't necessarily accept that people won't go to the polls. I don't think that needs to be true.

Maybe we're going at this from the wrong angle. Maybe we should be campaigning more to turn out the vote than to contrast our candidate against the other.

I don't know, but I'm wondering if we could generate a sea change in voter turnout for our party, not necessarily for a particular candidate.

We typically turn out over 60% in my congressional district. We work hard at GOTV here.

I don't know. Maybe I'm being over-optimistic.

[Phoenix61]

14. I don't think you are

We need to push hard all year every year to get out the vote. We should be speaking about the importance of voting everywhere we can find a mic.

[Cattledog]

33. Turnout was 57.97% in GA 6

http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/GA/70059/Web02-state/#/

[MineralMan]

34. Thank you. I have corrected the original post.

[NewJeffCT]

52. There was an organization that helped with turnout year-round

they were called ACORN. Unfortunately, due to the James O'Keefe doctored video, they were almost immediately defunded after the video came out, and they went under. It's not a coincidence that Democrats have suffered in local, state and in Congressional elections ever since.

[Hoyt]

2. That's the reason we lost, not vote tampering, suppression or anything else. We did not GOTV.

Heck, a judge gave us an extra month to register voters before last night's election.

It's a heck of a lot easier to attract a non-voter to Democratic candidates, than converting some ignorant white wing racist who is going to vote for GOPers no matter what.

[YCHDT]

5. Hacking voter rolls can't suppress voter turnout totals?!?!?

[Hoyt]

12. Do you have any evidence people showed up at polls and were told they weren't registered? Otherwise

Otherwise, that's just another excuse that doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

[YCHDT]

41. That will take some time to gather like it did in Florida 2000 where 20,00 votes were purged now ...

... could answer my question about purging affecting end vote totals?

thx

[Hoyt]

45. If there names were removed from the rolls, and they showed up to vote, there should have been a lot

of documented complaints -- "I went to the same place I voted last year and they said I was not registered" type thing. But I haven't seen that.

I'm not trying to be argumentation, but it is critical to get the facts. If we are claiming enough votes to offset Ossoff's apparent loss were turned away from the polls, we should be able to document it and maybe even sue for relief.

However, if we lost because people didn't even care enough to vote, that is another matter -- and where I think we are.

[YCHDT]

47. People weren't in 2000, that's not how humans act when they're disenfranchised to vote ... most will

... vote provisionally.

I do have a theory on why most don't vote in this country, its because they're not reached out to ... politically dormant people are were dems should be mining from now to 18 IMHO

[Hoyt]

49. If I had been turned away in 2000, next time, I would check my registration at the very last minute

next time. Provisional ballots are counted, so that really is not being turned away.


I just don't think it is that hard for people to vote especially in places like Georgia where you have weeks of early voting, can vote by mail, IDs can be anything like a utility bill, rides are available from Democratic headquarters, and I have not heard one polling place complaint even though local and national reporters were all over the place.

I remember in the 50/60s, candidates who lost elections claimed there were missing ballot boxes, tampering with counting, etc. This is not new.

[YCHDT]

50. For Florida you're right but that kind of mass purging doesn't happen everywhere and now they

... know to do it on the margins and not big percentages that can be detected like Florida.

It is hard(ER) for non whites to vote in America

[Hoyt]

51. I agree it is harder for non-whites to vote in some areas, especially with photo ID, only

one day of voting, where local organizers aren't able to provide transportation, etc.

I don't think it is as hard in all states. For example, Georgia has plenty of early voting, mail in ballots, transportation, easy IDs, etc. Surprised the heck out of me that this red state made it easier. I know the 6th District -- it's a lot of white flight GOPers. But, there is a sizable minority population. I suspect many felt it wouldn't make much difference if they voted. After all, white wingers like Newt Gingrich and Tommy -- cut Medicare and Medicaid -- Price have held that seat for decades.

[YCHDT]

55. That's the thing everything being equal they don't have to make it really hard just slightly harder

...And they win by these small margins.

Based off Osofd and the last for deep red district losses I think we can pull off 20% for the house unless Russia screws everything good

[kacekwl]

60. I'm afraid it's going to have to get a whole lot worse.

People will have to be hurt physically and or financially to make them wake up and vote or even pay attention to the world outside the little bubble they live in. Voter turnout has been dismal for as long as I can remember. It's like everything else, unless someone is affected by something they can't be bothered.

[LBM20]

6. There was a HUGE GOTV effort. They were contacted. They CHOSE not to come out.

[MineralMan]

10. Yes. They chose. They always choose.

Apparently the message wasn't enough. See, I don't know how that GOTV effort was conducted. I'm nowhere near that district. How were they selling the need to get out and vote? I've seen good GOTV campaigns and weak ones during my time working on elections. You have to sell the idea to people that voting matters. It's not telling them more stuff about the candidate. It's telling them why it matters for them to go to the polls and vote. That often gets forgotten, I'm afraid.

I do GOTV on my own, really, or have done in the past. I'm about to have to give it up as a personal effort, due to age. I sell the idea of voting, not candidates. I sell the idea that voting matters. That's how I've always done it.

Oh, well...

[YCHDT]

48. Where I live its mostly minority voters and I've never seen a door knock from the DNC where as ...

... the GOP has been here twice.

[Hoyt]

53. That's a serious oversight. I think there is some complacency by Democrats. In fact, Trump got

a number of Hispanic (likely 30%) and Asian votes. And I think 7% of Blacks voted for him despite his history of discrimination. That's something that needs to be addressed.

[MineralMan]

61. That's incredibly sad!

[MineralMan]

7. Yes. I'm afraid you're right.

If Democrats became the party that votes, we'd never lose, given the abysmally low turnouts in general.

Maybe that should be our push, nationwide. You're a Democrat! You vote! Make a difference!

I don't know how to do that, though. Maybe we're approaching the whole election thing incorrectly, somehow, as a party.

[Hoyt]

15. The numbers in your original post put it in perspective. If we had gotten 3% of so of Democrats who

didn't vote to show up, we would have won last night, November 8, 2016, and forever . . . . . . as long as we produce.

[MineralMan]

17. It's almost impossible to convince a lot of people of that, though.

I don't know why that is, frankly, but turnout is the primary factor in election results. It doesn't really matter why voters turn out, either. If more Democrats turn out than Republicans, we win. There were plenty of eligible Democratic voters for Ossoff to win. They just didn't go and vote.

That is why we lose.

[Hoyt]

19. Agree completely.

[femmocrat]

3. Well, you know... it was raining.... nt

[MineralMan]

8. I doubt that mattered, really.

Turnouts are low. Period. I find that shameful, really.

[femmocrat]

11. I know.. I was being snarky.

Another thing that probably DID hurt Ossoff were those poll numbers that had him 7 points ahead, about a week or so ago. Although they were calling it a "tie" the past few days, people might have thought he was safe.

So disappointing.

[Hoyt]

16. They had 4 weeks of early voting, 6 weeks of mail in ballots -- why wait until the last day?

I learned my lesson a few years ago when I got really sick day before election and just couldn't stand in line for an election I knew we would lose. So now, I get my mail in ballot and vote early, or go to early polling which is often open on weekends too.

[DonViejo]

9. If Liberals Voted ...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016187485

[BlackCherokee]

13. NO..the Democratic Party needs to be the party to make

sure that Democratic votes are not suppressed. Expect turnout to remain low for 2018 and beyond while Democrats continue to snowflake around the REAL issue.
People are not going to turn out as long as the voting hack and suppression MESS is not fixed. Let's be actual and realistic here. Being mad and racing to vote in a tainted electoral and hacked voting process is mot going to get us anywhere people. Please dont tell me to go out and vote in a broken, old, outdated and suppressed broken system and FIX THIS SHIT.

[Hoyt]

18. How are votes "suppressed" if 50% of REGISTERED Democrats didn't even show up at polls?

I get gerrymandering and the best way to beat that is to vote for local Democrats. I'd be ticked if people were showing up at the polls and being told that they were removed from the rolls even though they voted in all the latest elections. But that is not what is happening.

[BlackCherokee]

23. No, it is happening,, it happened to me when I voted in Durham,

NC. It is and has happened on a national and local scale. CATCH up please , you are not informed.

[Hoyt]

24. You showed up at a polling place where you had voted in the prior two years, and were turned away?

Why did you not report it to the representatives of the Democratic Party?

[BlackCherokee]

42. You are not informed because it happened in NC and i was actually on the news after my vote

disappeared and polls were opened later then usual because of the suppression tactic. And as far as gerrymandering, its before the house senate because gerrymandering is such a problem . Please white people, dont start acting like its not a problem locally when it is a problem nationally. Geez, exactly why Democrats arent winning any elections. Too many snowflakes are in denial and blaming voter turnout with all the close calls. Like we should trust the numbers of turnout when we can't trust the votes. Democrats will be played for the fools they are in 2020 and 2018. You better hope Mueller's investigation leds somewhere or kiss democracy goodbye.

[MineralMan]

25. But, see, I will tell you to go out and vote.

I can't fix things in your state, but you can. But, you'll have to actually care enough to show up and vote or nobody's going to listen to you at all. If you don't vote, you don't matter to anyone who can change anything. It's pretty simple really.

You can control only one thing: your vote. If you don't bother to do that, why would anyone care about your opinion. You didn't express it before, so why would anyone think you'll express it the next time. Not voting says nothing except, "I don't really care."

[BlackCherokee]

43. People are starting to think that candidates are selected and not elected and that is why there is

low voter turnout with minorities. Esp. here in the South. Because of the YEARS of gerrymandering in the South people are discouraged to show up and vote. Wasn't that the plan? Democrats are nowhere near bringing out voters, no where near. Minorities have been complaining for years about voter suppression and gerrymandering to the point they have given up and dont even bother.

[awesomerwb1]

20. That's sad. 40%??

Where is the Trump factor? If Trump is not enough motivation to go out and vote, what is??

[Lee-Lee]

21. You have to motivate people with SPECIFIC examples of how it will make their lives better

Not how it will make the country better. Not how it will make their state better. Not how it will make their racial/ethnic/religious group better off as a hole.

SPECIFIC ways it will make THAT INDIVIDUAL better off.

That's what motivates the kind of people who can't be bothered to turn out.

We tend to talk to people about big picture stuff because that's what motivates us. It doesn't work with them.

And then, this is key- FOLLOW UP AND DO WHAT THE HELL YOU PROMISED.

If you talk to rank and file union members who are not motivated to vote at all or to vote dem, do you know what they will say? "They all talk big about labor but they never actually do anything to make it better for us so why keep helping them for empty promises and hollow praise?". You can only run on "The other guy is the devil" for so long. You need to deliver in ways that makes a persons life better to bring them out.

[MineralMan]

27. And yet, Trump won with glittering generalities and

attacks on Obama. As for the rank and file labor union folks, they used to vote almost 100% of the time. They thought they could make a difference, and they did. People who don't vote don't matter to anyone in politics. They never have and never will.

[yallerdawg]

22. When a Democrat hasn't won that district since before 1978...

and it is 'gerrymandered' with a 70% Republican voter edge, how do you motivate voters - candidates, for that matter?

We have to be as smart as the Russian/Trump campaign collusion - target where we can win it!

The Deep Red South is not gonna flip it for us!

[Cosmocat]

26. This country is cut into 1/3s

our 1/3, living in reality, decency and common sense.

Their 1/3 living in their insane bubble.

And, 1/3 of the country that enables their 1/3, either just complete tunes it all out our gets sucked into their "they are all the same bullshit and they throw their hands up.

[MineralMan]

29. Yes, and it's up to our 1/3 to go convince that other 1/3

that things can change. We're not doing that. so, they sit on their hands. Actually, though it's more like 20%, 20% and 60%, really. With 40% turnouts, that's all we're doing. More than half of registered voters don't seem to care enough to even go and vote. That's the problem we face. We need to work on communicating with that 60% in a meaningful way.

[Danascot]

28. There's a whole list of things we can do

• Register new voters
• Expose GOP voter purges & programs like Cross-Check
• Reverse gerrymandering
• Fight for more and longer early voting
• Insist on more polling stations and voting machines in under-served areas, particularly if lack of polling places and machines would result in long waits
• Insist on voting machines that create a paper trail and are resistant to hacking
• In the days before the election have organized phone-banks to urge Dems to vote.
• GOTV on election day - Call to remind voters that it's election day and drive people to the polls if they need a ride.
• Fight voter intimidation. Report incidents to the ACLU.
• If the vote is close, demand a recount

I know I've left things out so please add to the list.

Much can be done starting right now. A lot can be done by individuals but it can be much more effective if the efforts of many are organized. Do people know what national groups promote which actions?

Maybe we do need to change our policies to appeal to a broader base or to shake up our leadership and candidates but all the actions above can be done without mentioning a single issue. There are more than enough people out there who are disgusted with Trump and the GOP and who will vote to give the Dems a landslide.

[MineralMan]

30. I suggest we start with that 60% of actual registered

voters. They've taken one step already. They're already registered. Frankly, it would be far more efficient and practical to work on that group before taking on any of your other steps.

In every case, it all has to start in the individual states and even counties. Elections are still state and country operated events. They are locally governed. Where I live, all of that has been done already. Where you live, there may still be a lot to do. I can't do anything about any state and county but my own, when it comes to elections.

People who are not registered are very, very hard to reach, really. Until we raise the turnout percentages among those who are already registered, we're missing the easier target.

[rgbecker]

31. You left out the #1 thing to do.

Give the people a candidate that motivates those that have been left out for so long. That 60% isn't ever to going to show up if they don't have some real hope and expectations that there will be change for the good. Why bother voting if the candidate supports the status quo, never answers questions straight forwardly and doesn't stick his neck out for the disenfranchised. If our guys are going to support Wall streeters, big Pharma and the MIC, I'd stay home too. Your list might get some interested Democrats to show up, but our party needs to tap into those who never vote. Up thread there was the comment that politicians don't care about people that don't vote and never will. I think candidates that target those non-voters with a message that has some resonance with them, the majority of Americans, we'd see some wins. We only need about 10% of the non-voters to vote our party to turnover the entire country.

[Cattledog]

32. Sorry but not true. Turnout was 57.97%

http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/GA/70059/Web02-state/#/

And this was with torrential rain and street flooding.

[MineralMan]

35. Thanks for your updated information.

I have corrected the numbers in my OP. My point remains the same, however.

[pirateshipdude]

36. I do not get this. I read earlier low turn out was 40% when we thought that was the number.

Now we are being told it was 57%. 17% higher. Now we call that low turn out. A special election, horrible weather and voter suppression.

In a very red district. Ossoff lessened the win significantly.

We need the base to argue this. What is voter turn out generally in this district?

[former9thward]

37. Turnout in Minnesota was below that in 2014 and 2010.

2014 50.5%

2010 55.8%

http://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/data-maps/historical-voter-turnout-statistics/

It looks like everyone can do better...

[MineralMan]

39. I got the wrong numbers. I've fixed it.

Yes, every state needs to do better with turnout. We all need to do better. And that's especially true in non-presidential year elections. If we can bring more Democrats to the polling place, we will win. It is that simple. We need to start working on ways to do that better than we have done in the past.

[octoberlib]

38. Part of the problem is young voters.

And I'm not just pointing the finger at millennials. When I was in the 18-25 age group in the 80's I didn't know one person, NOT ONE , in my age group, who bothered to vote in mid terms. My mother , who was in her twenties in the 50's and early 60's told me the same thing. I think this country would look very different today if we could have come up with a solution to this a long time ago. More education on the subject? If we could magically adopt Oregon's mail in voting model nationwide I think this would help . Make voting as easy as possible and they'll vote.

[MineralMan]

40. Well, I always did when I was young.

I'm not longer young, though, and nobody listens to me who is. So, it will have to be the young people who do vote to get their peers to the polls. They won't listen to old farts like me.

[DeminPennswoods]

44. If you are in a gerrymandered district where one party has

a significant registration advantage, then maybe you think your vote doesn't really matter. So why bother?

[Hoyt]

46. Well, if 10,000 Democrats who sat home last night had voted, we would have won.

[BlackCherokee]

54. This is exactly the mindset of many minority voters here in tne South.

For some reason the Democratic party had ignored that fact for years leaving many registered minority voters feeling that the Dem party is not the party for them either. People need to understand the mindset of the missing minority registered southern democrats. With gerrymandering districts what the hell is the point in showing up to vote. I am an older voter but have a hard hard, hard time getting my grown kids to vote. With all tbe conspiracies and gerrymandering, we are losing a generation of voters that we need. Good job Democrats.

[YCHDT]

56. Yep

[NewJeffCT]

57. For the presidential election of 2016

Voter turnout was 59%.

http://www.electproject.org/2016g

For a special election that takes place in the summer with no other races on the ballot, 58% is pretty impressive.

[pnwmom]

58. In WA and Oregon more than 70% turn out -- because of mail-in voting.

That's what all states should switch to.

We can either drop our ballot into a post office box, or put it in one of the special secure election drop boxes. And then we can go online and make sure our vote was received and counted.

I'd never want to switch back.

(But I suspect that that 58% was high for a special election in Georgia.)

[MineralMan]

59. I completely agree!