Opinion
Making The Right To Vote A Reality For All
— October 22, 2020

By Michael Posner
By Michael Posner
From 1840 until 1900 voter participation in the U.S. was routinely in the 70%-to-80% range, and only once dropped below that level in 1852. Of course, the pool of eligible voters was dramatically smaller in those days, excluding millions of African Americans who were enslaved until the 1860s and all women, who did not win the franchise until 1920, when the 19th Amendment was adopted.
In the modern era, as recently as the 1950s and 1960s, voter turnout in the U.S. routinely exceeded 60%. But three times since 1988, barely 50% of eligible voters exercised this precious right. In 2016, despite significant efforts to get people to the polls, turnout was just over 55%.
Read the full Forbes article.
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Michael Posner is a Professor of Business and Society and Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.