Did You Vote?

Hey, everybody!

Did you vote this year? Or did you assume your vote wouldn’t make a difference? Voter turnout for 2012 fell to 118 million from 2008’s impressive turnout of 131 million, with only 60% of eligible voters actually exercising their right to choose their government. In an election where the difference in the popular vote was less than 5 million, the 78 million people who chose not to vote might have made a huge difference.

So how did President Obama get out the vote? With tweets, likes and status updates. Check out this infographic to see how Obama bested Romney in a war waged through social media.

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Minnesota Has Highest Voter Turnout in Country

Minneapolis Star Tribune
Updated at: 11/07/2012 4:34 PM
By: Leslie Dyste

Nearly 2.94 million Minnesotans cast ballots in this year's election, which is up from 2.92 in 2008. That means nearly 76 percent of eligible Minnesota voters cast ballots in this election, which is the highest voter turnout in the country.

Meanwhile, when looking at national numbers preliminary figures suggest fewer people voted this year than four years ago.

In most states, the numbers were even lower than in 2004, said Curtis Gans, director of American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate. Every state but Iowa is showing a smaller turnout than in 2008, Gans said. Still, the full picture may not be known for weeks because much of the counting takes place after Election Day.

"This was a major plunge in turnout nationally," said Gans, who estimated about 126 million Americans voted, for an overall turnout rate of about 57.5 percent.

In Arizona, almost 19 percent fewer people cast ballots than in 2008. In Maryland, where voters approved a ballot measure allowing gay marriage, turnout in the presidential race was running more than 7 percentage points behind 2008. Alaska saw a drop-off of nearly 25 percent over four years ago, when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, The Associated Press' figures showed about 119.5 million people had voted in the White House race, but that number will increase as more votes are counted. In 2008, 131 million people cast ballots for president, according to the Federal Election Commission.

(More here.)