Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.

 

12 November 2014 • 9:09:04 MST

Montana’s aging electorate

Montana, on 29 March 1971, was the eighth state to ratify the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that lowered the voting age to 18. At that time, Montana’s voting eligible population comprised approximately 63–64 percent of the state’s population. Today, that percentage is up to 77.5. Montana’s population is aging; our voters are older, among the oldest in the nation. Only Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, and North Dakota have higher VEP to population ratios. Only Maine’s VEP turnout was higher than Montana’s in 2014, the worst turnout for a general election since 1942.