Here’s How Pennsylvania Ranked In Voter Turnout Last Year

Pennsylvania ranked dead in the middle — 25th in the country — in voter turnout last year amid historically high totals nationwide. Support and opposition for President Donald Trump, as well as Obamacare, turned voters out in droves during the 2018 midterm elections. More than 118 million ballots were counted, 35 million more than 2014. That national turnout of 50.3 percent represents the highest share since 1914.

The Keystone State saw turnout at 51.4 percent, according to the study, slightly higher than nearby Delaware (26th) but trailing New Jersey (22nd). Minnesota saw the highest turnout at 64.2 percent, followed by Colorado, Montana, Wisconsin and Oregon, all of which saw turnout of at least 61.5 percent.

Furthermore, every state with the exception of Alaska and Louisiana saw its midterm turnout increase over 2014.

But the study highlighted that even as voting surged overall, large gaps persist between states. Hawaii ranked dead last in turnout at a paltry 39.3 percent. Arkansas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi rounded out the bottom five. Each failed to eclipse 43 percent.

These gaps were largely driven by election-related policies, the researchers said. To put it in blunt terms, some states make it harder for people to vote, and it’s borne out in the numbers.

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The 10 states with the highest turnout adopted policies that encourage people to vote. This includes same-day registration, automatic voter registration and vote-by-mail. Same-day registration allows voters to register or correct any problems with their registration when they go to vote. Automatic voter registration means eligible citizens are registered to vote at motor vehicle and other government agencies unless they opt-out.

Nine of the 10 states with the highest turnout numbers have enacted same-day registration or vote-by-mail policies.

In contrast, the bottom 10 states tended to make voting more cumbersome. Eight states require voters to be registered at least four weeks ahead of Election Day. Not a single one offered automatic voter registration or mail-in voting.

The U.S. has historically trailed most developed countries when it comes to getting people to cast a ballot for their elected officials. Even as 70 percent of Americans agree high turnout is very important in presidential elections, just 56 percent of the voting-age population turned out in 2016.

By international standards, that’s pretty lousy. The Pew Research Center looked at the most recent nationwide election for countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. America ranked just 26th out of 32. (Three countries didn’t have voting turnout estimates available.) Belgium, in contrast, saw the highest turnout at 87.2 percent, followed by Sweden (82.6 percent) and Denmark (80.3 percent). Belgium, it should be noted, has compulsory-voting laws.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.