Louisiana voter turnout down compared to previous years

(The Center Square) — The presidential voter turnout in Louisiana has decreased from previous elections according to analysis of data from the secretary of state's office.

In 2024, a higher percentage of the voting population did not exercise their 15th amendment right than in the previous three presidential elections according to unofficial turnout numbers from the state's voting portal.

It is down to 65.9%, or more than 2 million voters total. In contrast, November 2020 saw the highest voter turnout in recent memory with 70.1%, or nearly 2.15 million total. The 2020 election was also a closer race, with Trump winning only 58% of the vote compared to 60% this year.

In 2016 and 2012 it was about a 67.9% turnout but the total numbers tell a different story. In 2012, despite a higher percentage of voters heading to the polls, the total votes casted was 1,994,065, over 12 thousand less people. In 2016 it's a similar story where despite out pacing the percentage by 2 points, the total vote count was only ahead by about 22 thousand with 2,029,032 voters.

Of course, every vote went Republicans way with at least 58%.

It wasn't just disinterest in the presidential race. Congressional voter turnout was also down in almost every district. Although it could be expected and did have lower vote counts in the midterm, the last presidential election saw much higher turnout.

District 1 saw 73.2% of the population vote in 2020. That dropped to 67% in 2024. For District 2, turnout went from 65.8% to 59.2%. None of the districts in 2020 had a below 60% voter turnout.

The story continued in District 3, dropping to 63.9% from 69.3%. District 4, 61.6% from 68.7%. District 5, 63.9% from 68.9%.

District 6 was the most surprising drop considering it had the most drama of any congressional seat in quite some time. The newly drawn majority black district with no incumbent had a 59.6% voter turnout in 2024 - a drastic drop from 74.6% in 2020.

It wasn't just national politics. Even the governor's race in 2023 declined in voter population percentage, dropping to 36.3% from 51% in a close race in 2019.