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With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 6 months ago on
November 19, 2024

California's voter turnout for the Nov. 5, 2024, election stands at 68.9%. Four years ago, nearly 81% of registered state voters submitted ballots. (Shutterstock)

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The Democrats said that the Nov. 5 election would decide the future of democracy in the United States.

In a late campaign decision, the party switched from Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California Attorney General and U.S. Senator, to go toe-to-toe with GOP nominee former President Donald Trump.

With democracy on the line, and a Golden State politician at the top of the ticket, what did Californians do?

They stayed home in droves or didn’t bother mailing in their ballots.

According to the latest update from the Secretary of State’s office, California’s voter turnout stands at 68.9%.

In 2020, when Biden denied Trump a second consecutive term in the White House, nearly 81% of registered voters in California completed a ballot.

“Based on the most recent estimate, a little over 16 million Californians voted in the 2024 election. If this number holds, it would mark a significant decline in turnout: roughly 1.7 million fewer ballots than 2020, despite 550,000 more registered voters and 1.8 million more eligible residents,” analyzed Eric McGhee of the Public Policy Institute of California.

In addition to registered voters, there are residents eligible to vote but haven’t signed up. When you include eligible voters, the November 2024 turnout drops to about 60%. That compares to 71% among eligible residents in 2020, which was higher than any California election since 1952.

Read more at the PPIC.

 

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Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

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