As the US election campaign nears its end point, one thing about the result is certain: a lot of people won't vote. Turnout at the 2016 US presidential election was only 60.1% - even without a pandemic. In 2020 there is a risk that COVID-19 will further undermine turnout.
The US is not alone and not the worst. Turnout at the 2016 Haiti presidential election, held only weeks after Hurricane Matthew, was 17.8%. The 2019 presidential election in Afghanistan, delayed because of technical problems, hit 9.6%. Actually, the US is pretty much in line with the global average of most recent presidential elections at 59.8%.
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