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Course: US government and civics > Unit 7
Lesson 1: Why it matters- Sal Khan & John Dickerson: introduction
- Why study US history, government, and civics?
- Why do midterm congressional elections matter?
- Why does your vote matter?
- How does voter turnout in midterms compare to presidential elections?
- Does the president's party usually gain or lose seats at the midterm elections?
- Who is the Speaker of the House?
- Why is the Speaker of the House second in succession to the President?
- What was the Articles of Confederation?
- What was the Gilded Age?
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How does voter turnout in midterms compare to presidential elections?
Midterm elections often see lower voter turnout than presidential ones. This trend, starting with JFK's celebrity presidency, is due to the focus on the president. Also, older Republican voters usually participate more in midterms than younger Democratic voters or voters of color.
Want to join the conversation?
- Why do midterms have very low voter turnout?(4 votes)
- Representatives and senators don't have the same prestige and importance a President has, in the eyes of the general populace.(3 votes)
Video transcript
- [Interviewer] How does
voter turnout in midterms compare to presidential elections? - Traditionally, midterm
elections have been years in which the voter turnout is much lower than a presidential
election, and particularly in recent history where the
American political scene has been really dominated
by the president. We can start that really
with John F. Kennedy, when he became a celebrity president and really everybody increasingly has just sort of seen
American political activity originating and swirling
around a president. And so if they're
interested in the president, well, they turn out for
the presidential election. But in the off-year
elections, in the midterms, well, the president's
not really on the ballot even if some people tend
to see the elections as a referendum on his presidency. So people turn out in lower numbers. We've also seen a trend, and
it may be upturned in 2018, but a trend where Republican
voters, who tend to be older, participate in the voting
in midterm elections more than younger voters, who
tend to vote Democratic, or voters of color, who vote for the Democratic Party as well. That's always been one of
the challenges for Democrats, to get their team to turn out and vote in these midterm elections.