Poverty and Voter Turnout: An Elusive Relationship

As poverty becomes an increasingly pressing issue in America, researchers and scholars alike are left to determine the extent to which poverty has become ingrained in our society. Many different theories exist on how poverty plays (or does not play) a role in politics, particularly voter turnout. Gaps in previous research have left room for my study to connect some dots and draw conclusions based off my own data. After collecting data from 25 Georgia counties and the 2020 presidential election, I had to conclude that in my study, there exists no confirmed relationship between poverty and voter turnout. There are several reasons this could be, such as spurious variables, small sample size, and the high turnout rate nationwide for the 2020 general election.