MACON, Ga. — Election Day is just one day away, and lots of people will head out to the polls tomorrow.
In the spirit of Election Day, this week’s Weather IQ will examine how the weather can have an impact on voter turnout.
Many political experts claim that “bad weather”, namely rain and snowfall, can reduce voter turnout.
And at first glance, this may make sense.
But is this really true?
According to several studies from The Journal of Politics and the Electoral Studies journal, there may be some truth to the claim.
The journals pulled rain and snowfall data from previous elections and compared it to voter turnout.
The studies found that compared to “normal” clear, sunny election days, days with rainfall or snowfall had much lower voter participation.
The same was true for the opposite, on good weather days the voter turnout was subsequently higher
While there is still some disagreement about how much impact bad weather has on turnout, there is a link between the two.
That means that the forecast tomorrow could be pretty important all across the United States.
But here in central Georgia, don’t make yourself a part of the statistic, get out and vote despite the forecast!
Sources: The Journal of Politics, Electoral Studies