#independent voters

5 Numbers That Say a Lot About the Election 

Turnout in the 2016 presidential election, initially characterized as low, actually exceeded that of the 2012 race in which President Barack Obama won re-election. Voter turnout: 60.2 Percent

Minnesotans exercised the franchise more than any other state’s residents, followed by voters in Maine, New Hampshire, Colorado and Wisconsin. The five share a common trait: Each allows same-day voter registration. Highest state turnout: 74.8 Percent

The presidential contest was waged almost entirely in the 14 states that both parties regarded as winnable. Those states were home to barely a third of the electorate. And just four of them — Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania — gobbled up 71 percent of campaign ad spending and 57 percent of candidates’ visits (Trump won them all). States where the big money went: 4

Holding a seat in the House of Representatives, it seems, is the political equivalent of holding municipal bonds: Both are rock-solid safe. Of the 435 House races, 402 were won by a margin of 10 percent or more.Number of close House races: 33

One in 12 voters under 45 spurned the major parties and cast ballots for independent presidential candidates, mostly the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson. Independents’ share of young voters: 8 percent