One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Voter Turnout in L.A. Lower Than in 2008
Voter turnout in LA County was lower than it was in 2008, according to NBC Los Angeles, a trend that mirrored the rest of the country.
The news site reports that 49.8 percent of registered voters cast ballots yesterday, compared with 76.8 percent four years ago. An additional 32 percent of registered voters got mail-in ballots, but only 46 percent of those were returned by Monday.
In total, 118 million people voted for the president, compared to 131 million in 2008.
The total number of voters is yet to be determined, but experts believe that it most certainly isn't as high as it was in the glory days of yesteryear.
"This is one of those rare elections in which turnout in every state in the nation went down," Curtis Gans, director of American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate, told NBC.