If Donald Trump has one undisputable achievement during the first two years of his presidency, it's that he has succeeded in increasing the political engagement of a large share of the American public.
Preliminary figures for nationwide turnout in the 2018 mid-term elections are in, and they've reached a mark not seen in more than a century. Across the US, 49.2% of the voting age public cast ballots. In 2014 that number was 37%, and the average over the last few decades has hovered around 40%.
The last time turnout for a mid-term topped 50% was 1914 - before women had the vote in the US.
In some states, the numbers were even higher. Washington and Colorado, which heavily utilise voting by mail, topped the list at 69.4% and 65.5%, respectively. Minnesota, always a high-participation state, came in at 64.3% this year.
Even states with lower 2018 turnout saw sharp increases over recent mid-terms. In Texas enthusiasm generated by Democrat Beto O'Rourke (who was narrowly defeated) helped boost turnout to 46.1%, compared to 28.3% in 2014. Georgia, which had a contentious governor race, saw an increase from 38.6% to 55%.
In California, where several prominent Republican congressional incumbents have been unseated, turnout rose from 30.7% to 47.8%
The numbers across the US still fall short of the roughly 60% voter participation seen during recent presidential elections, although 2018 does come close to the 51.7% mark for Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign. And digging back farther into the historical records, it surpasses the levels of the 1920 and 1924 presidential years.
