President Obama’s re-election this past November came with a bit of a hitch: Turnout for the election was down a bit from when he was elected the first time in 2008.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-p-mcdonald/turnout-in-the-2012-presi_b_2663122.html

I wonder: Why is that such a big deal? It really isn’t, simply because election turnout in this country hardly ever is boast worthy. You see, unlike a lot of “democratic” nations, we don’t require voting. It’s strictly voluntary. Thus, Americans are free to vote or sit elections out, whichever option floats their boat.

The 2008 turnout spiked to more than 61 percent of eligible voters. Sen. Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain handily, become the first African-American president in U.S. history. It was a watershed political moment and Americans responded by turning out in record numbers. Four years later, with the economy still struggling and many Americans unhappy with the nation’s direction, the turnout dipped slightly to around 58 percent. The presence of a desultory Republican challenger on the ballot didn’t help.

The 1972 election produced a significant decline in turnout because that election for the first time included voters younger than 21 years of age. The Constitution was amended the previous year to allow 18-year-olds the right to vote and most of that huge pool of new voters responded to that grand news … by not voting.

But the turnout got even worse. By 1996, with Bill Clinton running for re-election against Sen. Bob Dole and Texas businessman Ross Perot, the percentage declined to 49 percent, which is a ghastly statement of voter apathy.

Should the turnout be better in the greatest nation on Earth? Of course it should. However, the beauty of our system is that government doesn’t require us to vote. This exercise strictly is up to us as citizens. I’m betting political scientists always will struggle to find solutions to our national apathy. Better to force them to search for these answersrather than invoking a law forcing many of us to do something we’d rather not do.

Me? I like the pageantry associated with Election Day. And no one has to force me to vote.