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The 2012 presidential election between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney is heading into the final months. Soon, media coverage increasingly will focus on voter turnout — especially in battleground states. In 2008, when Obama faced off against Republican challenger John McCain, turnout among the voting eligible population was 61.6%, according to data compiled by George Mason University’s United States Election Project. This is an improvement from 60.1% in 2004 and 54.2% in 2000.

Read: States with the Highest Voter Turnout

Read: States with the Lowest Voter Turnout

At the state level, turnout varied significantly, ranging from 77.8% to 48.8%. Based on turnout data provided by the U.S. Election Project, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states with the highest and lowest voter turnouts in the most recent presidential election.

Based on 24/7 Wall St.’s independent analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, education was a strong predictor for voter participation. For those with a bachelor’s degree, voter turnout was 77%. It was 39.4% among eligible voters with less than a high-school education.

Michael McDonald, associate professor in Government Politics at George Mason University and director of the project, confirmed these findings. “We do see that there is a strong correlation with education and turnout — of those with a Ph.D., over 90% … are voters, according to various surveys. And of course, if you are at the other end of the scale, you’re looking at much lower turnout rates, sometimes under 50%,” he told 24/7 Wall St.

According to the Census report, there was a similarly strong relationship between turnout and income. Turnout of voting-age individuals with household income of less than $20,000 was just 51.9%. Turnout rose to 79.8% for households earning $100,000 or more.

Indeed, seven of the 10 states with the lowest voter turnout were among the top 15 states with the highest poverty rate. Each of those seven states is also in the top 15 for percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree.

The high and low turnout states also tended to have different political leanings. Eight of the 10 states with the highest turnout voted for Obama, while eight of the 10 states with the lowest turnout went for McCain. None of the eight low-turnout states that went for McCain in 2008 went for the Democratic nominee in the previous two elections. But three of the eight high-turnout states that went for Obama went for George W. Bush in 2000, 2004 or both.

McDonald explained that the reason these states had high or low turnout rates was likely not related to political leaning, but the presence of demographic groups in these states that have been shown to have high or low turnout. “Demographic characteristics,” McDonald added, “predict which party they’re associated with.”

High turnout by state is not determined just by demographics. The ease of access to registration, social media campaigns and the state-specific policies have all been shown to have an impact on voter participation. Currently, eight states and the District of Columbia allow election-day registration, and five of them are on the list of the 10 with the highest turnout.

Using data from the George Mason report, 24/7 Wall St. looked at the percentage of eligible voters who turned out to vote in the presidential election in 2008, 2004 and 2000. For each election, we also reviewed each state’s voting-age population, voting-eligible population and how many voters were disqualified from voting due to factors such as noncitizenship and felonies. In addition, we looked at state data from the U.S. Census Bureau for median income, poverty, educational attainment, race and age for 2010. Finally, we looked at states’ voting patterns in recent presidential elections and the political party of the incumbent governor to determine whether turnout is higher in “swing states” and lower in states where one political party dominates.

These are the 10 states with the highest and lowest voter turnout rates.

States with the Highest Turnout

10. Missouri
> 2008 voter turnout: 67.6%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 4,327,572 (17th highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 10
> Median income: $44,301 (14th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 87.3% (22nd lowest)

Missouri’s voter turnout jumped dramatically in the past two election cycles. The 67.6% turnout is an improvement from 65.3% in 2004, when the state ranked 15th in voter turnout, and 58.2% in 2000, where the state ranked 17th. Every one of those new voters were critical in the last presidential race. The contest was closer in Missouri than in all other states, as McCain won the state by a victory margin of just 3,632 votes out of nearly 2.9 million. Missouri also was considered a swing state in 2000. The percentage of people over 25 with at least a high-school diploma was 87.3%, the only state on this list that is in the bottom half for people with at least a high-school diploma. Until 2008, Missouri was also the unofficial bellwether state, voting for the winning candidate in 12 consecutive presidential elections.

9. Oregon
> 2008 voter turnout: 67.7%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 2,700,327 (24th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 7
> Median income: $46,560 (22nd lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 88.9% (21st highest)

Oregon has consistently been a state with one of the highest voter turnout the past three presidential elections. And like many states on this list, it has been a swing state in two of the past three elections. The Beaver State has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1988. Prior to that, it voted for the Republican nominee in all but seven elections, four of these seven being for FDR. With one of the highest proportions of young voters in the country, Oregon is trying a new tactic at getting this normally reluctant group out to vote. In 2010, the state launched a program of sending out text messages to remind people to register to vote and to vote on election day. Oregon is one of only two states in the U.S. where residents vote in all elections by mail, the other being Washington.

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8. Alaska
> 2008 voter turnout: 68.0%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 479,429 (2nd lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 3
> Median income: $64,576 (3rd highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 91.2% (6th highest)

Unlike most states on this list, Alaska has not been a swing state recently, but that has not led to a lower voter turnout. In fact, turnout was even higher in 2004, at 69.1%, and it was 68.1% in 2000, the seventh- and second-highest turnouts for those elections, respectively. Alaska’s voting patterns bucked conventional stereotypes of age and voter preference in the most recent contest. The population aged 20 to 34 — a key age group in Obama’s success — is 22.3% of the total Alaskan population, the second-highest in the United States. Meanwhile, only 7.5% of Alaskans are 65 or older, the lowest of all 50 states. Nevertheless, McCain, along with running mate Sarah Palin, the then-governor of Alaska, won the state with almost 60% of the vote.

7. Michigan
> 2008 voter turnout: 69.2%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 7,229,512 (8th highest)
> 2012 Electoral votes: 16
> Median income: $45,413 (18th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 89.0% (20th highest)

The Great Lakes State is the most populous state on this list. Its voting-eligible population is almost 3 million more than the next most populous state on the list, Missouri. Though the incumbent governor is Republican, Michigan has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992. Beset by economic problems since the 1970s, Michigan has had a declining population and hence a decline in the electoral vote from a high of 21 in the 1970s to the current 16 votes beginning with this election. Michigan was a swing state in the 2004 election between John Kerry and George W. Bush.

6. Iowa
> 2008 voter turnout: 69.4%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 2,216,094 (21st lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 6
> Median income: $47,961 (24th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 90.9% (8th highest)

The Hawkeye State is home to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary vote every four years, hosting the Iowa caucus the January before the general election. But political participation does not stop with Iowans following the caucuses. Iowa has been in the top 10 states for voter turnout in each of the three most recent presidential elections. It helps that Iowa isn’t heavily favored toward one political party. Iowa was considered a swing state in both 2000 — when the state went for then Vice President Al Gore — and 2004, when then-president Bush won the state’s electoral votes. Although Obama won by a more comfortable margin the last-go around, Iowa is one of the states that is considered a toss-up by The Cook Political Report. Iowa is one of eight states to allow for election day registration at the polls.

5. Maine
> 2008 voter turnout: 70.6%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 1,036,242 (12th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 4
> Median income: $45,815 (19th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 90.5% (tied for 11th highest)

Older Americans vote in higher percentages compared to younger Americans, and Maine serves as exhibit A of that trend. Only 17% of the population is between the ages of 20 and 34 — the lowest rate in the country. Meanwhile, 43.7% of the state’s population is between 35 and 64, the second highest rate in the U.S., while 15.9% of people are 65 and older, the third highest in the country. But while research shows that older voters tend to be more conservative, Maine has voted for the Democratic nominee for president by sizable margins in the three most recent elections. The state’s voting-eligible population is boosted since it is only one of two states to allow felons to vote and only 1.3% of the state’s residents were noncitizens as of 2008, the fourth-lowest percentage in the country. Maine was also the first state to allow election day registration.

4. Colorado
> 2008 voter turnout: 71%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 3,382,959 (23rd highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 9
> Median income: $54,046 (15th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 90.1% (tied for 13th highest)

In the 2000 presidential election, Colorado had the 19th-highest voter turnout rate at 57.5% of the voting-eligible population. But in 2008, the Rocky Mountain State had the fourth-highest voter turnout in the United States, an increase of 13.5 percentage points. The proportion of Colorado’s population 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 36.9%, the second highest in the nation. In 2004, it was one of 11 states that was considered a swing state, when it ended up voting Republican. Then, in 2008, Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention.

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3. New Hampshire
> 2008 voter turnout: 71.7%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 992,226 (10th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 4
> Median income: $61,042 (7th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 91.7% (4th highest)

New Hampshire is the only one of the 13 original colonies represented among the states with the highest voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election. It is also one of just two states on the list to be on the eastern seaboard. New Hampshire has consistently been among the states with the highest voter turnout and has often been a swing state. The Granite State has maintained four electoral votes since 1884. Like half of the states with the highest voter turnout, New Hampshire allows for election day registration.

2. Wisconsin
> 2008 voter turnout: 72.4%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 4,120,694 (18th highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 10
> Median income: $49,001 (22nd highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 90.5% (tied for 11th highest)

America’s Dairyland had the second-highest voter turnout in the past two elections, and the third-highest turnout in 2000. Wisconsin lost an electoral vote after the 2000 census, but maintained all 10 electoral votes after the 2010 census. Back in 1928, the state had 13 electoral votes. This year, the Republican vice presidential candidate is a representative from Wisconsin. Though the state has voted for the Democratic candidate since 1988, it has twice been considered a swing state in the past three elections and it has a Republican incumbent governor. Wisconsin was one of the first three states to adopt election day registration in the 1970s.

1. Minnesota
> 2008 voter turnout: 77.8%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 3,740,142 (21st highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 10
> Median income: $55,459 (12th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 92.1% (2nd highest)

Minnesota has had the highest voter turnout in the country in the past three presidential elections. In the most recent presidential election, Minnesota’s turnout was more than five percentage points higher than Wisconsin’s, and it was over 16 percentage points above the national average turnout of 61.6%. The Land of 10,000 Lakes has voted mostly Democratic since 1932 and entirely Republican before then. In 2008, Obama won Minnesota by over 10 percentage points, despite the fact that the state hosted the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul for that election cycle. Like most states with the highest voter turnout, Minnesota had a high percentage of residents with at least a high school diploma. The state was also one of the first three states to adopt election day registration in the 1970s.

Also Read: States with the Lowest Voter Turnout

States with the Lowest Turnout

10. Kentucky
> 2008 voter turnout: 57.9%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 3,152,629 (25th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 8
> Median income: $40,062 (4th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 82.3% (4th lowest)

The Bluegrass State has been a red state the past three presidential elections and has fairly consistently voted Republican since the 1950s. Like most of the states with the worst voter turnout, the percentage of Kentucky residents finishing both high school and college was near the bottom for each. The state had the fourth-lowest percentage of the population 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher, at 82.3%. It also has the fourth-lowest percentage with bachelor’s degree or higher, at 20.9%. After the 1990 census, Kentucky’s electoral votes dropped from nine to eight, where it will remain through the 2020 election.

9. Nevada
> 2008 voter turnout: 57.0%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 1,696,831 (16th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 6
> Median income: $51,001 (19th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 84.8% (13th lowest)

Nevada is one of only two of the states with the worst voter turnout to vote for Obama in the 2008 election, the other being Hawaii. In the past nine elections, the state voted for the Republican ticket six times while voting for the Democrats three times. Nevada is also one of only two swing states from the past three elections in the bottom 10 states for voter turnout. Beginning with this election and going through 2020, Nevada will have 50% more electoral votes than it did in the 1988 election. This isn’t surprising considering the state’s population has tripled in the past 32 years, the fastest growth rate in the country.

8. Tennessee
> 2008 voter turnout: 57.0%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 4,563,192 (15th highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 11
> Median income: $41,461 (6th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 84.1% (11th lowest)

Tennessee has voted Republican with few exceptions in the past 60 years. In fact, Vice President Al Gore, who represented Tennessee in Congress for 16 years before his executive stint, narrowly lost the state in 2000. The percentage of the state’s population 25 years of age and older with a high school diploma was 23.4%, which is among the bottom 10. Similarly, the median household income of $41,461 was also in the bottom 10 states. Historically, Tennessee’s influence on the presidential race has remained relatively unchanged in terms of the electoral college — it has the same number of electoral votes as it did in the 1932 election, with an uptick of one vote after the 1940 census and a downtick after the 1970 census.

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7. Arizona
> 2008 voter turnout: 56.7%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 4,046,075 (19th highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 11
> Median income: $46,789 (23rd lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 85.9% (18th lowest)

Arizona has almost tripled its share of electoral votes since the 1960 election when the state had just four votes. In the elections Arizona has participated in since becoming a state in 1912, it has voted Republican all but eight times out of the 28 presidential elections it has participated in — seven of those eight times were before 1950. Arizona had one of the 10 lowest voter turnouts in the country in each of the past three elections. However, during that time the state has continually improved its turnout percentage and its standing in relation to the other states. This year, it is predicted that Romney will carry Arizona, but it is also expected that Arizona may become a swing state down the road as the demographics of the population are expected to change.

6. Utah
> 2008 voter turnout: 56.0%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 1,700,286 (17th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 6
> Median income: $54,744 (13th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 90.7% (9th highest)

Utah has much in common with other low-turnout states. The state is far from a bellwether in presidential elections — McCain won the state in 2008 with more than 62% of the vote.The state also has a disproportionate share of young people, as 24.3% of the voting age population is between ages 20 and 34 — the highest percentage in America. But unlike other states with the worst voter turnout, Utah’s percentage of the population over age 25 with a high school diploma, at 90.7%, was in the top 10 in the country. The percentage of the population with a college degree was in the top third.

5. Oklahoma
> 2008 voter turnout: 55.8%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 2,619,121 (23rd lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 7
> Median income: $42,072 (8th lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 86.6% (32nd highest)

Oklahoma is a very red state — McCain won the state with nearly 66% of the votes in 2008, the most lopsided victory for him in all 22 states voting Republican. Former President Bush won by about the same margin in 2004 and took 60% of the vote in 2000. This trend goes way back. The last time the state voted for a Democratic candidate was in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson was elected to office. Oklahoma was in the bottom 10 states for the percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher, at 23.3%, and for median household income, at $42,072.

4. Texas
> 2008 voter turnout: 54.1%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 14,929,810 (2nd highest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 38
> Median income: $48,615 (24th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 81.0% (2nd lowest)

Of the nation’s 10 most populous states, Texas alone is in the bottom 10 states for voter turnout. While still far from stellar, turnout improved in 2008 compared to the two times that former Texas Governor George W. Bush was on the ballot — turnout was 53.7% and 49.2% in 2004 and 2000, respectively. Texas is also a traditionally Republican state as no Democratic presidential candidate has won a plurality since Jimmy Carter in 1976. The percentage of people age 25 or older with at least a high school diploma was 81%, the second lowest in the country.

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3. Arkansas
> 2008 voter turnout: 52.5%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 2,071,563 (19th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 6
> Median income: $38,307 (3rd lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 83.5% (tied for 7th lowest)

While President Bill Clinton won his home state both times he ran, Arkansas voters have veered toward Republican candidates in the past three presidential elections, increasing their margin of victory in each contest. Arkansas has one of the poorest records of educational attainment in the United States. Only 19.8% of the population age 25 or older had a bachelor’s degree, the second-lowest percentage in the country. Meanwhile, 83.5% of Arkansans at least age 25 had a high-school diploma or higher, the seventh-lowest percentage in the country.

2. West Virginia
> 2008 voter turnout: 49.9%
> Winning candidate: McCain
> Voting-eligible population: 1,430,439 (15th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 5
> Median income: $38,218 (2nd lowest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 83.5% (tied for 7th lowest)

West Virginia is just one of two states in the U.S. where less than half the voter-eligible population turned out to vote. While turnout across the U.S. was stronger in 2008 compared to the 2004 election (61.6% to 60.1%, respectively), turnout in West Virginia was much stronger in 2004, when 54.1% turned out to vote. Only 17.8% of the adult population has a college education, which is the lowest rate in the country. The state’s median household income of $38,218 was the second lowest in the country, while the percentage of households below the poverty line, at 18.1%, was the eighth highest in the United States.

1. Hawaii
> 2008 voter turnout: 48.8%
> Winning candidate: Obama
> Voting-eligible population: 930,067 (9th lowest)
> 2012 electoral votes: 4
> Median income: $63,030 (5th highest)
> Pct. with HS diploma or higher: 90.1% (tied for 13th lowest)

Ironically, the state with the lowest turnout was the home state of President Obama. Hawaii had the worst voter turnout in the country in the past three presidential elections. The Aloha State is the only one on this list of worst voter turnout to consistently vote Democrat — it has voted Democrat in every election but two since becoming a state in 1959. The home-state candidate won 72% of the vote in 2008, the most lopsided victory in the presidential race. Hawaii was also the only state among this group to have a median income in the top 10 in the country and a poverty rate in the bottom 10.

-Samuel Weigley, Lisa Uible, Michael B. Sauter

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