Decreased Voter Participation in LA County's 2024 Election Compared to 2020 - Daily News (paraphrased)
Headline: Voter Turnout Decreases Significantly in California and Los Angeles County in 2024 Election, Affecting Various Demographic Groups
In the 2024 general election, voter turnout dropped both statewide and in Los Angeles County compared to the 2020 election, according to a report by USC's Center for Inclusive Democracy. The decrease was uneven, with certain subgroups, such as Latinos, Asians, and Black voters, seeing larger drops in participation than White voters.
Statewide, turnout among eligible voters in 2020 was 66.8%, which dropped to 62% in 2024. In Los Angeles County, the percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in 2020 was 66.2%, which dropped to 61.4% in 2024.
White voters, as a subgroup, saw a smaller decrease than the state or county as a whole, with 11.5% of White voters statewide and 13.2% in Los Angeles County skipping voting in 2024 after casting ballots four years earlier.
Among minority groups, Latinos and Asians experienced a higher percentage loss in registered voters compared to white voters. Twenty-five percent of Latinos statewide and 26.6% of them in Los Angeles County skipped out of voting in 2024, though they cast ballots four years earlier. The same could be said for 20.9% of Asians statewide and 23% in Los Angeles County. Among Black voters, 19.6% statewide and 20.6% in Los Angeles County voted in 2020 but did not four years later.
The drop in voter turnout was particularly concerning for certain minority groups, including Latinos, Asians, and younger voters. Statewide, the drop in voter participation among voters ages 18 to 24 was significant, with 31.4% staying home in 2024. In Los Angeles County, 33.2% of voters ages 18 to 24 who voted in 2020 stayed home four years later. Seniors 65 and older saw a smaller drop in voter turnout statewide, with a 12.9% decrease, while in Los Angeles County, the drop was 14.7%.
Laurice Sommers, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles, believes that misinformation or disinformation has scared away people from voting. To address this issue, she suggests that the government should invest more in providing local election offices with greater resources for voter outreach.
Romero, another expert, also emphasises the importance of increased resources for voter outreach. He suggests that the government should invest more in providing local election offices with greater resources for voter outreach.
Nationally, although 2024 had one of the highest election turnouts of the past century, it was still lower than in 2020, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Over 2.67 million (17.3%) of registered voters who voted in 2020 sat out the election in 2024 statewide. In Los Angeles County, that was the case for nearly 783,000 people (or 20.6% of registered voters). The same percentage of Republicans, 15.8%, did not vote in 2024 in Los Angeles County after voting in 2020. Among voters with no party preference, 28.8% did not vote in 2024 after casting ballots in 2020. Similarly, 26.2% of voters registered with other parties in Los Angeles County did not vote in 2024 after voting in 2020.
These findings highlight the need for increased efforts to engage voters and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
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