Turning Out the Turnout: How America Stacks Up in Voting

We just wrapped up a three part series on where America ranks in terms of overall freedom, income inequality and healthcare, and education. Despite the hype of being the "Leader of the Free World", we actually are pretty far down the pole. In fact, as many of you know, America is on the low end of the industrialized West and in some areas, actually among second tier nations. Not good folks. Not good at all. So, I was thinking "why don't we do something about that?". Our Founding Fathers gave us two options to change our government. The first was the ballot box. The second was the ammo box. Obviously, we'd prefer the former to the latter but that depends on the options the government gives us.
As a result, I wanted to know where America ranks in terms of voting. After all, isn't voting the hallmark of a democracy or democratic Republic? Of course, we're now a Oligarchy with a professional political ruling class comprised of plutocrats, but how has that affected our ability to influence government?

According to 2018 Pew Research study, the nation with the highest voter turnout is Belgium with a turnout of between 83% and 95% and it's been that over the last 40 years. That's pretty impressive! Next on the list is Sweden with just over 85% of registered voters showing up at the polls. Following Sweden was Denmark with a little over 80% of the voting age population voting. In fourth place was the nation down under, Australia, which had almost 79% of its voting age population coming out to vote. South Korea rounded out the top five with just under 79% of its voting age citizens voting. Other countries in the top 20 include Norway (70%), France (78%), Mexico (66%), UK (63%), and Greece (62%).

So, if the US---the "Leader of the Free World"---isn't in the top 20 in voter turnout, just where are we ranked? The US is in 26th place, behind nations like Estonia and Spain and just ahead of Slovenia, Chile, and Poland. According the study, just 55.70% of the voting age population bothers to vote. That's just slightly over half of the population. But the good news is that according to another Pew study, this time from 2013, the US ranked 31st out of 34 countries. In 2018, we were 26 out of 34 industrially developed nations. I can hear chants of "USA USA USA" now!

As a nation, we pretty much stink when it comes to showing up at the polls. But, then there's not much to vote for when you're an Oligarchy right? After all, they literally own both parties and their politicians. It also means they control policy but, at least according to Citizens United and people like Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), money is free speech. Of course, corporations are allowed far more " free speech" than flesh and blood citizens and that means more access and control; even to the point of writing or co-writing legislation. They fund campaigns and fill party coffers on both sides of the aisle. Partisan politics is really about which corporate clique gets what they want and who gets the crumbs. Naturally you and I get stuck with the bill.

Well, if we're so dismal when compared to the rest of the world, how do we stack up against each other? According to several reports, the most recent data (from 2016) shows that in 10th place, the highest voter turnout was Louisiana, which by the way, has the third highest poverty rate in the US. In 9th place was Mississippi. Voter turnout out was 67%. The 8th place winner was Massachusetts with a 68% turnout. The 7th spot went to Nebraska which had a voter turnout of 68%. Coming in 6th place was Oregon with 69%.

The state making it into the 5th spot was Iowa with 69.6%. 4th place went to New Hampshire, but not by much! It's voter turnout was 69.8%! The 3rd place winner was Maine with a 70.8% voter turnout. The "bridesmaid" state at number two was Wisconsin which had a impressive 73% voter turnout. Finally, the state with the highest voter turnout was Minnesota! Minnesota has a amazing turnout of 74.5%! That's nearly three in four voters who showed up to vote. That's outstanding by any measure. In case you're interested, out of the top ten, seven of the states went Democrat while only three went Republican.

Now that we looked at the ten best, who were the ten worse? What ten states cared the least about showing up to vote? In the 10th spot was the Peachtree state of Georgia. It's voter turnout was 59.3%. In 9th place was New York with 59.2%. The 8th place spot belonged to Arizona, which had 58.4%. 7th place went to Oklahoma. They had a voter turnout of 58.3%. Coming in 6th was Nevada with only 57.7% showing up to vote.

Now we get into the top five, which brings us to Texas. You would think their voter turnout would have put them on the other list, but nope. Texas had a voter turnout of just 55.3%. Well, at least Texas wasn't Tennessee which came in 4th place with a voter turnout of only 54.9%. In 3rd place is Arkansas which had a turnout of 54.3%. The runner up for the worse of the worse in voter turnout belongs to West Virginia. West Virginia had only 52.9%. Yikes! Finally, in first (or last) place, depending on how you look at it was Hawaii. The 50th state showed up with only half its population bothering to voter---50% exactly. Seven of the bottom ten tend to vote Republican by the way. I don't know if I should offer my congratulations or condolences.

Some other entries include Delaware in 12th place with a 66.6% turnout, Michigan in 15th place with 66.1%, Alaska in the 20th spot with 64.6%, Ohio at 25 with 63.5% turnout, Florida making the 32nd spot with 62.2%, Kentucky in 36th place with 61.1% voting, California came in 38th with 60.3%, Indiana was 40th with 59.5%. An interesting aside is that for the majority of the states, it's the older voters who tend to come out consistently. Younger voters (mostly the Millennials) tend to stay away, but they seem to also be the most vocal when it comes to politics. Guess it want to change things you have to stop bellyaching and actually show up. Just saying you know. Women are also more likely to vote than men. I guess they took that 19th Amendment pretty seriously! They certainly fought long and hard for it.

So what does this tell us? Well, it seems to go hand-in-hand with the results of our other results in that the rhetoric of the US being the world leader in democracy doesn't match the reality of where American actually stands. It also shows the frustration that Americans feel toward politics. Most Americans are turned off by all the childish and petty playground drama which seems to define not just Washington but state capitals and local city halls. Of course, we already know the distain from Washington is reciprocated to us out here in "flyover country". They don't even pretend to listen to us anymore. Hell, they don't even have the decency to lie to us anymore. Have you noticed how many tied elections we've had recently? How many contested elections? How the fact that the 2016 Democratic Primary was fixed and nothing actually happened!? They just do as they please and leave it to the corporate controlled media to spin it however they want.

We can, of course, change this...if we really want to. Washington and others want us to believe they have the power and control. They don't. We do. Unlike countries like the UK where the government simply ignores the decision of the voters (such as with Brexit) and the voters have little recourse, we have options. Americans need to demand term limits and an end to partisan gerrymandering of districts. We can demand a level playing field, and that includes third parties and Independents, who also just so happen to be America's largest voting bloc, and this includes opening up debates and equal access to the media. We also need to remove corporate money from politics which all but eliminates other groups and individuals from having a voice. That, of course, means dropping "Citizens United". As an aside, we can all start supporting and voting for non-lawyers and corporate VIPs like teachers, police officers, firefighters, blue collar workers, small business owners, and so forth; in other words, we can start electing individuals who are like us rather than millionaires and other elites.

It's up to you. We have the power and the ballot box remains...at least for the moment...our best option. However, if we're to preserve what's left of our Republic (which isn't very much as the numbers have repeatedly shown us), then we must act now. We can't wait and there won't be a second chance.



US voter trails most developed countries in voter turnout


Americans Don't Show Up at the Polls But Neither Do the Swiss


States With the Highest (and Lowest) Voter Turnout

National Hispanic Heritage Month: Integration or Balkanization?

Did you know this is National Hispanic Heritage Month? Well, it is. Each year, from September 15 through October 15, is set aside to acknowledge the contributions of Hispanics, ranging from the arts and culture to social activists and professionals. National Hispanic Heritage Month is an outgrowth of President Johnson's proclamation in 1968 of Hispanic Heritage Week. It was enlarged by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. In addition, according to the official National Heritage Month website, the start of the month, September 15, is an important date in Hispanic history. It marks the independence day of five Latin America countries, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Also, Mexico and Chile celebrate their respective independence days on September 16.

According to a 2016 Pew Research Report, here are approximately 57 million Hispanics in the U.S. as of 2015 (that figure may not included those who are here illegally since those individuals don't always respond to US Census inquiries). That's 18% of the total U.S. population. From 2000 to 2014, Hispanics accounted for 54% of the U.S. population growth, with Mexicans making up 2/3 of the total Hispanic population. Of that 54%, Southern states received the lion's share with 46% growth in population. This was followed by 24% in Western states, 18% in the Midwest, and 12% in the Northeast portion of the U.S. California has the single largest population of Hispanics (around 15 million) while Texas (which has near 12 million) has seen the fastest growth rate. Never the less, Hispanics immigration, once the largest demographic group, has now been over taken by Asians.

Hispanics are also the youngest cadre among immigrants with an average age of 28. Among just Hispanic Millennials, that number drops to 19 years of age. The Pew report went on to say that in any given year, some 800,000 Hispanics turn 18. Not surprisingly, 55% of all Hispanics are Catholic. However, what was surprising was that the number of Hispanics who at least know some English is increasing; 68% from ages 5 and up speak English. Perhaps as a result of more Hispanics learning English and greater integration, especially among U.S. born Hispanics, there are fewer high school dropouts. As of 2016, only 10% of Hispanics dropped out high school (in 1996, that rate was 16%). Furthermore, college enrollment among Hispanics is also seeing an increase with some 47% are enrolling. This is an increase of 15% over 1999 levels.

In terms of voting, some 27 million Hispanics were eligible to vote in 2016 with Millennials making up the largest percentage of that number with 44%. Historically, Hispanics have strongly favored the Democratic Party (with the exception of Cubans, who've traditionally supported Republicans). Despite this, 57% of all Hispanics polled before the 2016 election felt that the nation was headed in the wrong direction. Out of that, 63% of those born in the U.S. felt that we were headed in the wrong direction. Interestingly, 63% of U.S. born Millennial Hispanics said that they were voting for Hillary Clinton as a anti-Trump vote rather than one in favor of Hillary. However, among non-Millennials (those over 35), 65% said they were voting for Hillary and not against Trump. Based on election results, 66% of Hispanics voted for Hillary Clinton. Ironically, this contrasts with Barack Obama who received 67 which compares to Obama's 77% Latino turn for his second term (by contrast, Trump received just 28% of the Latino vote compared to 31% for McCain in 2008 and 27% for Romney in 2012). What are the key political issues affecting Hispanics? Surprisingly, it's not immigration. The chief concerns of most Hispanic voters are education (55%), employment (52%) and healthcare (43%) and Immigration (32%).

In a recently poll by Pew, dated September 28, 2017, Hispanic unemployment has also on the downswing at 4.7% (the national unemployment rate is 4.2%, although that number doesn't include those working temp or seasonal jobs, part time jobs, underemployed or those who have simply stopped looking). Still, those are good numbers for Hispanics in general. Hispanics born in the U.S. and speak English have led this curve. Currently, 17% of the workforce is comprised of those who identify as Hispanic; up from 13.5% in 2006. Not unexpectedly, those born in the U.S. have done the best in terms of finding employment. Again this appears to be a result of their ability to speak English and integration into U.S. society. Another positive sign is that Hispanic women, especially those who are U.S. born, have done well and even outpaced Hispanic males in terms of employment. The poverty rate among Hispanics has also shown a drop with a new low of 19.4%. The flip side to that figure is that Hispanics have a higher percentage of severe poverty when compared to other populations.

So, overall it appears that things are looking up Hispanics, especially among native born and those who are Millennials and/or female. Nevertheless, we need to at least mention the "elephant in the room", and that is illegal immigration. While Hispanics, and Mexicans in particular, make up the largest share of illegals immigrants, other ethnic and racial groups are mixed in with those numbers. At present there are approximately 11 million individuals here illegally. Some are here on expired visas, be it for work or school, the majority are simply here because they made a conscious decision that they didn't want to go through the immigration process.

Some will tell you that they are simply interested in finding work and not in becoming a naturalized citizen. In fact, most who find employment send a percentage of their earnings back home to aid family members. For many of them, it's often dirty backbreaking jobs in agriculture as field hands or working in processing plants. As few may find employment in at race tracks as hot walkers, muckers, or groomers. Maybe some will find work on cattle ranches or dealing with other livestock (including slaughter houses). Others end up in construction as painters or roofers, while others windup in the food industry, while women, who may also work in these fields, also end up in sweatshops doing piece work. Of course, a percentage will fall in with drug cartels and criminal gangs, in which case their life expectancy is often short. Regardless of which area they find work, their pay is usually very little; working conditions are terrible (and since it's illegal, is not covered by the EEOC or OSHEA), while personal housing is often in dilapidated houses, sheds or garages with no running water or electricity, and they are always looking over their shoulder. A steep price for trying to jump the line.

In terms of costs to the American taxpayer, some estimates put illegal immigration as low as 3.5 million (per a May 2013 Heritage Foundation report) while others put that number as high as 12.5 (based on a September 2017 Federation for Immigration Reform or FAIR report) plus 4.2 million children of illegal immigrants. The difficulty is lack of adequate documentation and that most illegal immigrants try very hard to stay below the radar; avoiding surveys, Census workers, and so forth. However, it appears that the higher numbers are most accurate based on reported factors such as education, hospital and emergency room reports, and crime reports. While the costs obviously vary from city to city and state to state, when both federal and cumulative state numbers are added together, the cost to taxpayers is in the neighborhood of $135 billion dollars. This includes a number of factors, such as healthcare, hiring Spanish speaking tutors, welfare payments, various local, state, federal subsidies, and so forth. Of course, there is the cost of incarceration and deportation.

FAIR breaks this figure down to $8,075.00 per illegal alien family. Nevertheless, that's not to imply that all illegal immigrants don't pay taxes in some form or another. Many do, either through purchases or use of stolen social security numbers. One estimate, based on research done by FAIR, estimates that illegal residents paid in $18,968,857,700 dollars. However, when offset by what legal residents (i.e. taxpayers) pay in, the total net costs of illegal immigration to you and me is $116 billion dollars. I've included a link to FAIR's website and specifically their page The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers (https://fairus.org/. I've also included a link down below to the Heritage Foundation report for those who would like to compare reports.

To wrap this up, Hispanics appear to be integrating into the American melting pot, albeit somewhat slowly, especially by older adults and recent arrivals. Those born in the United States are the best integrated as one would expect. Hopefully their experiences will aide older members of this demographic group adopt to a full and rewarding life in America by teaching them the customs, traditions, values, and especially an at least conversational English. It used to be a matter of personal pride of earlier immigrants to America to be able to speak our common language. In fact, the majority of immigrants almost immediately identified as "Americans" so complete was the separation of their ties to their former country. Hopefully, this trend towards integration will continue.



Hispanic Heritage Month Official Site


Key facts about how the U.S. Hispanic population is changing


Hispanic dropout rate hits new low, college enrollment at a new high


Hillary wins Latino vote but fell below 2012 support for Obama


The Fiscal Costs of Unlawful Immigrants and Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer