Voters giving less thought and enthusiasm toward elections since 2018: Poll

A new Gallup poll from Oct. 3 to Oct. 20 with 1,009 respondents shows that 49% are giving elections “quite a lot” of thought, compared to 54% in 2018.

This year, 57% of both Democrats and Republicans report that they have thought a lot about the elections. On average, Republicans have slightly outpaced Democrats in giving more thought to elections since 1994. However, in 2018, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to give the election a lot of thought.

Records show that the Democrats are leading in early and mail-in voting. In the 23 states with party registration data, 45% of early voters were registered as Democrats, compared to 33.3% of early voters that registered as Republicans, according to the U.S. Elections Project, which compiles early voting information.

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The Gallup poll shows that 42% of respondents are less enthusiastic about voting on Nov. 8, which is in line with enthusiasm levels from 1994.

In early to mid-October, 57% of Democrats said they were enthusiastic about voting, compared to 49% of Republicans. This is a significant change from a similar poll conducted in June, when 58% of Republicans were more enthusiastic than Democrats at 48%.

When looking at responses from independent voters, 37% said they were thinking about the election, and 35% reported more enthusiasm for the midterm elections.

The poll noted that since Democrats and Republicans are giving the 2022 election the same amount of thought, “the outcome may hinge on which party’s candidates independents ultimately support.”

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Independent voters may lean toward voting for Republicans due to “President Joe Biden’s low approval rating, high inflation, economic woes, and broad dissatisfaction with the direction of the country,” per the poll. However, the topic of abortion could also sway independents to the Democrats’ side.