Voting in the United States: How Socioeconomic Status Influenced Voter Turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election

Abstract

The 2008 presidential election between Senators Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) occurred before the most severe economic recession since the great depression of the 1930s, and there is an abundance of evidence that shows economic status of voters during this period of time affected the voter turnout per state in this election. An example of this is the state GDP per capita within each individual state. The data collected in this study shows that, as state GDP per capita increases, the percent voter turnout for that state increases as well. The other variables studied included the number of students who enrolled in a degree granting institution in 2008, average state income tax, percent urban population, and state unemployment rate. However, it is not clear that these variables had significant effects on the percent voter turnout for each state in 2008.