Voter Turnout Essay

First, psychological factors obviously play a part in if and when people vote. People vote based upon the opportunity cost, the price and time used when finding information about voting and the action of voting, out weights the cost of not voting at all. “….a person will vote if the information and time costs of doing so are outweighed by benefits of potentially casting the deciding vote and the rewards (or avoided costs) from voting” (Harder and Krosnick 541). Logically this makes sense, if someone does not see a value in educating himself or herself politically, voting or care about the outcome of the election they will not, “if a particular voter is not concerned with the outcome of an election, the benefits one obtains from voting may be enough to outweigh the cost” (Miles 372-373).
Second, demographics of the area voting play a large role in voter turnout. “In the aggregate, voters tend to be older wealthier, more educated and white than non-voters,” which means that these types of voter
Voting turnout tends especially to be lower in primary elections compared to general elections, especially in Texas. This lack of voter turnout in primaries is due to the fact they receive less coverage and less information is given to the public about them. Due to very little people knowing about them and understanding them, no one comes to vote at them. “In 2012, fewer Texans voted compared to the presidential elections four years earlier. The trend reversed this year, as more than 800,000 more Texans voted in their year’s general election compared to 2008 or 2012” (“Here’s Where Texas Voters turned out and Where They Didn’t” para 1). It makes sense that the voter turnout for election like the primary or local elections would have lower voter turnout due to them being unknown to the public, at least less known than the very popular presidential