Why was voter turnout so low in the late 1800s?
According to wikipedia, the population was 174,620 (US Census) in 1860. But in that year's presidential election, only 19,951 people voted. This trend continues until about 1920, when voter participation really picked up. Can anyone explain this?
Rhode Island had a very high immigrant population, and a high ratio of native females to native males. For example, in 1900, 40% of Rhode Island males 18-44 were foreign born. In 1920, the ratio of adult native females to adult native males was 110%.
Large scale immigration into the US stopped in the 1910s. From 1920 on you would have had the effect of native born children of immigrants becoming adults; with older immigrants becoming naturalized or dieing (40 years or so after they immigrated).
Based on data from:
Historical Census Data Eligible population (over 21 native and naturalized)
Male Female
------------- --------------
Year Tot Vot Vot Ntv Ntr Vot Ntv Ntr
1910 542 116 116 84 32
1920 604 282 135 97 38 147 107 40
1930 687 341 169 120 49 182 134 48
1940 713 425 207 161 46 218 177 41
1950 791 514 257 213 44 257 213 44
Male/Female not available for 1950, so I simply halved the total.
Note the number of persons who could vote increased by 143% between 1910 and 1920. Turnout declined between 1916 and 1920. In later years, turnout increased into the 70s. This might also reflect an aging population.
