Lake County reported lower voter turnout compared to presidential elections dating back to 2008, while Porter County reported another voter turnout in the 60% range similar to previous presidential elections.
Elizabeth Bennion, Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, said what’s most notable in the data from Lake and Porter counties in presidential elections dating back to 2008 is that in each presidential election, the Democratic candidate for president receives fewer votes.
Democrats are losing voters amid a weakening of the union labor movement, Bennion said. But amid the current union leadership, there has been “increased diversity of political thought,” she said.
“It seems that in Indiana and nationally, we’re seeing additional support for Republican candidates including in counties that have traditionally been considered solid blue counties within a red state,” Bennion said. “That is something that makes an already difficult situation for Democrats in Indiana even more difficult if they’re losing the support that they once had.”
Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wieser said he believes the county’s decrease in votes for the Democratic presidential candidates since 2008 has been a top-of-ballot trend likely because of a decrease in population in the northern part of the county. Democrats have held strong races down the ballot, he said, including in 2024.
“Those numbers still hold true on the down-ballot,” Wieser said. “All of those races we won handily.”
Porter County Republican Chairman Michael Simpson said in Porter County the presidential candidates have shifted from Democrat to Republican since the 2008 election because over time the Democratic candidates have not been “offering what people are wanting.”
“People are getting a little more conservative in their thought process and values,” Simpson said.
In 2024, voter turnout in Lake County was reported at 57.2% while Porter County reported at 62.15%, according to data from each county.
In Lake County, voter turnout was reported at 70.6% in 2008 as 215,062 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 209,039 cast a vote for president and former president Barack Obama received 66.6% of the vote, according to county data.
During Obama’s second run for office in 2012, Lake County voter turnout was reported at 60.5% as 205,940 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 202,147 cast a vote for president and Obama received 64.75% of the vote, according to county data.
In 2016, Lake County voter turnout was reported at 56.76% as 206,781 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 202,699 voted for president and Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton received 57.6% of the vote, according to county data.
In 2020, Lake County voter turnout was reported at 60% as 222,982 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 220,328 voters voted for president and President Joe Biden received 56.6% of the vote, according to county data.
In Porter County, voter turnout was reported at 66.3% in 2008 as 112,811 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 74,793 cast a vote for president and Obama received 56% of the vote, according to county data.
In 2012, Porter County voter turnout was reported at 64.4% as 114,618 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 73,810 cast a vote for president and Obama received 50.8% of the vote, according to county data.
In 2016, Porter County voter turnout was reported at 62.2% as 126,941 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 79,075 cast a vote for president and President Donald Trump received 49.6% of the vote, according to county data.
In 2020, Porter County reported a 66.5% voter turnout as 132,035 voters cast a ballot. Of those, 87,833 cast a vote for president and Trump received 51.87% of the vote, according to county data.
Nationally, Bennion said a few final voter turnout data points are still being collected, but it does not appear that the 2024 voter turnout will surpass the previous presidential election. Indiana “falls in the bottom of the pack” when comparing states’ voter turnout, Bennion said.
While Trump won the 2024 election, the data shows low voter turnout impacted his campaign, Bennion said.
“The United States as a whole is a relatively low turnout nation, and we see in 2024 there are more people who are eligible to vote but chose not to do so than there were people who voted for Donald Trump, who won a majority of the popular vote,” Bennion said.
Voter turnout has been low nationally because voting has been a right but not an obligation, Bennion said. In other democracies, voting has been made a requirement, similar to the U.S. requirement for jury duty or paying taxes, with a fine imposed if a voter doesn’t cast a ballot.
The electoral college has also likely been impacting voter turnout because many voters may decide not to vote if they live in a state where they know a particular candidate will win or lose the state they live in, Bennion said.
For example, in Indiana, Bennion said state-wide races have seen a Republican advantage in over two decades, so voters may feel less inclined to vote if they anticipate an outcome. But, in neighboring Michigan, voter turnout will likely be higher than Indiana’s because of the competitive races and ballot questions, she said.
Indiana’s election laws, like prohibiting same-day election day voter registration or universal vote by mail, also limit the state’s voter turnout, Bennion said. Republican Governor-elect Mike Braun and the Republican supermajority legislature have not indicated that they want to change Indiana’s election laws toward improving voter turnout, she said.
To improve voter turnout, Bennion said political party leaders and politicians need to work toward improving voting institutions and ensuring that voters feel like their votes have an impact on the outcome.
Wieser said he was disappointed by Lake County’s voter turnout in the presidential election, particularly Election Day totals given how strong early in-person voter turnout numbers were.
“I can’t for the life of me figure out why (voter turnout was low), given the state of the election and the polarization of the candidates,” Wieser said. “It’s just upsetting to me that so many people don’t exercise their right to vote.”
Simpson said the voter turnout in Porter County was “abysmal and low” because about one-third of the county’s registered voters didn’t cast a ballot.
“There’s still a big number of people sitting at home and not casting a ballot,” Simpson said.
