Voters line up outside of the MSD Lawrence Education & Community Center at lunchtime on Oct. 30, 2024. (Submitted by Brad Klopfenstein)
There is no substitute for just showing up. Sometimes I wish there was one, but there just isn’t.
The relentless polling that exhausted Americans during the last three months of the presidential campaigns never really swung all that much, no matter what the drama of the day was. By the time Labor Day arrived, the persuasion part of the national campaign was largely over.
I was skeptical of every undecided voter this year. The presidential choices were so stark, remaining voter indecisiveness was really about whether they would vote at all, not whether they would choose Harris or Trump.
About nine million fewer Americans voted for president this year than in 2020, according to unofficial results as several states are still counting. Based on the estimated adult population in the country of 271 million, that means about 54% of eligible voters participated in the presidential election. That is down from 60% in 2020 but is an identical participation rate to 2016.