Voter turnout since 1960.

[Renew Deal]

This is the turnout I could find from 1960 to 2000. I only included the votes for candidates that got at least 1 million votes. What can we make of this?

Year Votes %Difference from previous election
1960 68,335,000
1964 70,307,000 2.8
1968 72,956,000 3.76
1972 77,439,000 6.14
1976 79,977,000 3.277
1980 85,108,000 6.41
1984 92,032,000 8.13
1988 90,695,000 -2
1992 103,754,000 14.4
1996 906,53,000 -13
2000 104,345,000 15.1
8,505,463,636 4.5017

[ZombieNixon]

1. Here are some straight percentages.

Year % Voter Turnout Winner
1952 63.3 Dwight D. Eisenhower
1956 60.6 Dwight D. Eisenhower
1960 62.8 John F. Kennedy
1964 61.7 Lyndon B. Johnson
1968 60.6 Richard M. Nixon
1972 55.2 Richard M. Nixon
1976 53.5 James E. Carter
1980 52.6 Ronald W. Reagan
1984 53.3 Ronald W. Reagan
1988 50.1 George H. W. Bush
1992 55.2 William J. Clinton
1996 49.1 William J. Clinton
2000 51.2 George W. Bush (supposedly)

It seems that where there's an election with a Dem winner following an election where there's a Repuke winner, the election with the Dem winner generally has a higher voter turnout. (c.f. 1992 to 1988 and 1960 to 1956). In races where the incumbent is re-elected, there is a drop in voter turnout from the previous election. (c.f. 1956 to 1952, 1972 to 1968 and 1996 to 1992). Keep in mind that these are all generalizations.