The 2024 US presidential election had been widely characterized as one of the most consequential political contests in recent US history. Although turnout was high for a presidential election – almost matching the levels of 2020 – it is estimated that close to 90 million Americans, roughly 36% of the eligible voting age population, did not vote. This number is greater than the number of people who voted for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
More than a month on from polling day, eligible US voters from across the country as well as other parts of the world got in touch with the Guardian to share why they did not vote.
Scores of people said they had not turned out as they felt their vote would not matter because of the electoral college system, since they lived in a safely blue or red state. This included a number of people who nonetheless had voted in the 2020 and 2016 elections.
While various previous Democratic voters said they had abstained this time due to the Harris campaign’s stance on Israel or for other policy reasons, a number of people in this camp said they would have voted for the vice-president had they lived in a swing state.
Yes, and them not voting is one of the reasons we are where we are. So you agree.
Yes, obviously in democracy you need people to vote for you.
And in order to achieve that, you need to convince them to vote for your cause. If you don’t, it’s not their fault. They vote for what they believe, no matter how crazy and stupid it may be. That’s also part of the ‘rule of the people’.
I can see that you will do everything you can to keep yourself convinced that people who voted third party, or chose not to vote at all, bear no responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
I hope you’re able to one day acknowledge what’s happening, and accept that you fucked up and take responsibility for your action (or inaction).
I’m not saying they are not responsible for the outcome. But they voted for what they believed in. If you want to vote for your side, put effort into it.
I am not an american, I vote, and am very sad that elections everywhere go to the bad actors. And I realize that I need to do more so that better actors get more votes. Or this won’t change.