Why are so many voters sitting out this week?

Civics 101

NHPR

Education, History, Supreme Court, American History, Elections, Democracy, Society & Culture, Government, Civics, Politics, Social Studies

4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There are plenty of reasons. They just aren't good enough.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Did you vote already or is it like you're still waiting to do it?
0:03.0	Yeah, I voted on Monday.
0:05.0	Per usual, it made me emotional and nostalgic, though I'm not sure what for.
0:10.5	Did you vote already?
0:11.6	No, I'm more of like a day of guy.
0:13.8	Yeah, I am going to be out of town.
0:16.0	So it was an absentee ballot, baby.
0:18.6	Is this your first one, your first absentee?
0:20.7	It was, and i'm happy to report
0:23.2	it was a breeze now i did have to go to town hall but i like really love going to town hall i would go
0:29.0	to eddie town or city hall i love them so hannah this is an episode about why people don't vote
0:34.7	and i feel like you're already very much alienating all the non-voter, non-town hall lovers out there.
0:40.7	Yeah, sorry.
0:41.4	This is Civics 101.
0:42.9	I'm Hannah McCarthy.
0:43.8	I'm Niccabedice.
0:46.7	Now, if you are listening to this on November 3rd when it comes out, tomorrow is election day.
0:52.3	Not the presidential election, not the midterm.
0:55.8	This is what some people call an off year. And most people take it off.
1:00.6	If you subtract states that have a gubernatorial election in any odd-numbered year,
1:07.2	you're probably looking at sub-20, sub-15 percent turnout.
1:11.5	This is Louis Lozada.
	...

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