NC in Focus: Why people didn’t vote in 2014

Not all North Carolinians who are eligible to vote (citizens 18+) are registered to vote, and only two-thirds of those who were registered to vote participated in the 2014 election. Overall, less than half of North Carolina’s eligible voters cast a ballot in November 2014 according to the Current Population Survey voter supplement.

Why didn’t individuals vote? Just over one in four registered voters (26%) reported that they did not vote because they were too busy or their work or personal schedule conflicted with the polling hours. The second most commonly given reason for not voting was that they were not interested or their vote wouldn’t make a difference (17%). Thirteen percent of individuals were too ill or disabled to make it to the polls. Twelve percent just didn’t like any candidate enough to show up. The fifth most common reason given was that individuals were out of town or away from home on Election Day (9%).

Less common reasons for not participating were because they forgot (5%), because the polling places have inconvenient hours or long lines (4%), transportation problems (3%), and registration problems (2%). About eight percent of respondents gave some other reason for not participating.

More about voting and registration rates in North Carolina:

• NC in Focus: Registration & Voting, 2014
• Racial & Ethnic Differences in Registration & Voting, 2014