Voter turnout in this year’s election came out higher than early vote counters predicted, but still far lower than in some of the previous presidential elections over the last 20 years.
The trend also seems to follow a national decline in voter turnout, though, national numbers are still being tallied up and finalized as of Monday.
According to finalized reporting by the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, 1,225,176 people voted by or on Nov. 5 in the presidential, congressional, state and special elections. That figure represented about 62% of the state’s electorate, or the total number of eligible voters.
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Compared to previous years, it’s a bit of a drop.
“While we were hopeful to see our voters rise to the occasion, it has become apparent we continue to face voter apathy and fatigue,” Secretary of State Michael Watson said in a press release issued last week before the count was finalized. “I encourage each of you to continue to encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to engage in the elections process and fulfill civic duty and responsibility. Mississippi needs an engaged electorate now more than ever.”
A poll worker at Wood Activity Center in Clinton, Miss., hands an “I voted” sticker to a voter Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
In 2020, 66% of the state’s electorate cast a ballot in the election. In 2016, 2012 and 2008, it was 64%, 67% and 68%, respectively, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.
In respect to the nation, as of Friday afternoon about 149 million ballots were cast across all 50 states, which is still about 7 million than what was seen in the 2020 election.
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Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office Communications Director Elizabeth Jonson said that voter turnouts were actually pretty high during the early hours of Election Day, but overall, they just didn’t exceed previous years’ numbers.
As for Mississippi, there are still two elections left undecided: The Mississippi Supreme Court Central District race and the Mississippi Court of Appeals race. Candidates in those races are heading to a runoff on Nov. 26, just two days before Thanksgiving.
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at [email protected] or 972-571-2335.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS voter turnout falls lower than in the last four presidential elections
