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'''Turnout''', or voter turnout, refers to the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in an [[election]]. For [[president]]ial elections, voter turnout has been about 50% in the [[United States]] in the past few decades.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html</ref> For non-presidential federal elections, voter turnout has been between 35% and 40%. For local school board elections, voter turnout can be less than 20%.
'''Turnout''', or voter turnout, refers to the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in an [[election]].
[[Image:Turnout-2ps.jpg|thumb|300px|High rates of turnout in the [[Second Party System]] demonstrated strong voter interest; all adult male citizens could vote; compare this to 60% turnout in 21st century in the [[Fifth Party System]]]]
'''Sources:''' <references/>
For presidential elections, voter turnout has been about 50-55% in the [[United States]] in the past few decades.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html</ref> For non-presidential federal elections, voter turnout has been between 35% and 40%. For local school board elections, voter turnout can be less than 20%.
[[Category:Dictionary]]
In the presidential election of 2008, the overall turnout nationwide was 57.9%, which decreased to 52.5% in the presidential election in 2012.<ref name="Daily Younder">http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-voter-turnout-drops-18-2012/2012/11/29/5514/</ref> Turnout is somewhat lower today than in prior periods of American history.<ref>https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/turnout.php</ref>
Typically the turnout in a [[primary]] is particularly low. The record turnout for the State of Alabama in a presidential election is only 42.6% of registered voters (which is only a subset of the total number of eligible voters). That record was set in 2008. The prior record for Alabama was only 29% (set in 1992).
== Urban versus rural ==
In general, rural residents vote in higher turnout than city residents do.<ref name="Daily Younder"/>
Turnout declined in both urban and rural areas in 2012 compared with 2008. The turnout in rural counties declined from 67.2% in 2008 to 54.9% in 2012.<ref name="Daily Younder"/> The turnout in small cities fell from 61.1% in 2008 to 52.7% in 2012.
==Further reading==
* Alexander Keyssar, ''The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States'' (2001) [https://www.amazon.com/Right-Vote-Contested-History-Democracy/dp/0465029698/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238563171&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
==See also==
* [[American election campaigns, 19th century]]
* [[First Party System]]
* [[Second Party System]]
* [[Third Party System]]
* [[Fourth Party System]]
* [[Fifth Party System]]
* [[Gilded Age]]
* [[Jim Crow]]
====References====
<references/>
[[Category:Political Terms]]
[[Category:Election Terms]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:United States Political Parties]]