The 2016 election, which for many DU students was their first, made history almost from the beginning. A crowded field of seventeen Republican candidates came down to Donald Trump, an outsider who challenged the status quo from just about every angle. For the Democrats, Senator Bernie Sanders clearly energized students on college campuses throughout the country as an outsider against Hillary Clinton, an established figure on the U.S. political landscape for over 25 years.
The official vote tally is not complete as of this writing, but it appears the turnout of the Voting Eligible Population (VEP) of about 232 million is down from the 2012 elections, at about 58 percent in 2016 from 58.6 percent in 2012. This latest data comes from the United States Election Project at the Department of Political Science, University of Florida. Once again, this nation has elected a “Minority President” because so many people just do not vote. To put this in perspective, about 232 million ballots should technically have been counted on November 8, and we wound up with about 134 million. Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote, wound up the Electoral College Winner with 60 million popular votes, or about 26 percent of the 232 million VEP. Thus, regardless of whether Trump or Clinton won, either would have been a “Minority President” in my view at roughly one fourth of the VEP. Moreover, the word “Minority” can be applied to our vote for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, City Council, etc.
For millennials, the age 18-35 group, the turnout rate in 2016 is estimated at around 48 percent versus nearly 70 percent for the Baby Boomers, the age 52-70 group. This takes on added importance when earlier this year the number of millennials eligible to vote was about equal to the Baby Boomers (yours truly) at 69 million.
In the end, I think this election simply came down to “Mr. Outside” Trump versus “Mrs. Inside” Clinton.
The statements by Trump, which were considered divisive to many, and Clinton’s emails, which raised several serious questions, seemed to be overshadowed by the fact that “we” simply wanted change. I say “we” because if you did not vote on Nov. 8, as about half of millennials did not, and 42 percent of the VEP did not, then don’t complain about who won or who lost. Still, people will complain our elected officials don’t represent us as citizens. I am not surprised. We can only really “Make America Great Again” (Trump) or be “Stronger Together” (Clinton) when we exercise our civic duty to simply vote. It is not that difficult to do once every two and four years. We are not that busy.
Andrew J. Sherbo
November 14, 2016
Faculty Adviser, DU College Republicans
Faculty Adviser, DU Young Americans for Freedom
