Deciding to Vote

In 2008, 61 percents of adult citizens voted in the presidential election. People who vote tend to have a high level of political efficacy.

Not all adults are eligible to vote. All states require that voters be citizens of the United States and over the age of 18. Many states have restricted the right to vote of convicted felons, prisoners, and parolees.

One phenomenon of the 2008 election was the expansion of voting days and hours with many states offering alternatives to the traditional election day vote. Read more about early voting in the 2008 election here in this blog from the News Hour.