--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Democrats and progressives do well when…" description: "\"Democrats and progressives do well when the voter turnout is high. Republicans do well when the voter turnout is low.\" — Bernie Sanders" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/bernie-sanders-233_democracy_democrats-and-progressives-do-well-when_1807541.jpg" --- # Democrats and progressives do well when the voter turnout… ![“Democrats and progressives do well when the voter turnout is high. Republicans do well when the voter turnout is low.” quote by Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/bernie-sanders-233_democracy_democrats-and-progressives-do-well-when_1807541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/bernie-sanders-233_democracy_democrats-and-progressives-do-well-when_1807541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/bernie-sanders-233_democracy_democrats-and-progressives-do-well-when_1807541.jpg) > “Democrats and progressives do well when the voter turnout is high. Republicans do well when the voter turnout is low.” [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. High voter turnout benefits Democrats; low turnout benefits Republicans, highlighting strategic importance of participation. **In simple terms:** Turnout shifts political advantage. Key Takeaway Encourage voter participation. Themes politics participation strategy Mood urgent motivational Type political analytical When to use this quote - election campaigns - community outreach - voter registration drives Key Concepts democracy electoral dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why does turnout matter? - How can turnout be increased? A Different Perspective Turnout alone doesn't guarantee outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrat/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Progressives Voter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progressives-voter-2085723/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Republicans Voter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republicans-voter-2085722/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Turnout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turnout/) [Turnout High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turnout-high-2085724/) [Voter turnout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voter-turnout/) [Voters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voters/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [Defy the pundits again and reach for a high voter turnout that'll shock the establishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/defy-the-pundits-again-and-reach-for-a-high-voter-turnout-that-ll/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Republicans win when people are demoralized and you have a small voter turnout, which by the way is why they love voter suppression. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/republicans-win-when-people-are-demoralized-and-you-have-a-small/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I'm particularly good at turnout. So in my district, I had the lowest voter turnout in 2006. And now I have the highest turnout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/i-m-particularly-good-at-turnout-so-in-my-district-i-had-the-lowest/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) > [We've got 50 percent voter turnout for presidential elections. That's appalling. We can do so much better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-blades/we-ve-got-50-percent-voter-turnout-for-presidential-elections-that-s/) [Joan Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-blades/) > [I'm particularly good at turnout. So in my district, I had the lowest voter turnout in 2006.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/i-m-particularly-good-at-turnout-so-in-my-district-i-had-the-lowest-2/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) > [We will do well when young people, when working-class people come out. We do not do well when the voter turnout is not large.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-will-do-well-when-young-people-when-working-class-people-come-out/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If there is a large voter turnout, not only do we retain the White House, but I think we regain the Senate. We win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/if-there-is-a-large-voter-turnout-not-only-do-we-retain-the-white/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The only way change happens is when people become more significantly involved in the political process. We have to increase voter turnout and citizen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-only-way-change-happens-is-when-people-become-more-significantly/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/a-low-voter-turnout-is-an-indication-of-fewer-people-going-to-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [TV ads are great for broadcasting, but voter turnout is about narrow-casting. And not all messengers are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-melber/tv-ads-are-great-for-broadcasting-but-voter-turnout-is-about-narrow/) [Ari Melber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-melber/) > [“High voter turnout, which some equate with a healthy democracy, has been in Nigeria (and in some other countries) an indication instead of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/high-voter-turnout-which-some-equate-with-a-healthy-democracy-has/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I think, at the end of the day, especially for municipal elections, we see relatively low voter turnout. So the goal is to expand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wu/i-think-at-the-end-of-the-day-especially-for-municipal-elections-we/) [Michelle Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wu/) > [Voter caging and voter ID laws exist to disfranchise voters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-mckinney/voter-caging-and-voter-id-laws-exist-to-disfranchise-voters/) [Cynthia McKinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-mckinney/) > [ I've heard - when I first started, people were saying, "You know if it ends up being Trump against \[Hillary\] Clinton, it's going to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-ve-heard-when-i-first-started-people-were-saying-you-know-if-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [They appear to have had a higher voter turnout in Iraq than we did in our recent federal elections, and we didn't have terrorists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-burns/they-appear-to-have-had-a-higher-voter-turnout-in-iraq-than-we-did-in/) [Conrad Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-burns/) ## More by Bernie Sanders > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [As the longest serving Independent in the history of the United States Congress, as somebody who came into office by defeating an incumbent Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-the-longest-serving-independent-in-the-history-of-the-united/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [What we have got to do immediately is to say that racism and xenophobia is totally unacceptable and we will stand with the 1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-we-have-got-to-do-immediately-is-to-say-that-racism-and/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [In 1999, Hoffmann-LaRoche paid a $500 million criminal fine for leading a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices for certain vitamins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-1999-hoffmann-laroche-paid-a-500-million-criminal-fine-for-leading/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [We need a strategy. And the goal is to bring millions of people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-need-a-strategy-and-the-goal-is-to-bring-millions-of-people/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [We are living at a time where a handful of people have wealth beyond comprehension - huge yachts, jet planes, tens of billions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-are-living-at-a-time-where-a-handful-of-people-have-wealth-beyond/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The deficit crisis is real and must be addressed. But it cannot be solved on the backs of the weak and vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-deficit-crisis-is-real-and-must-be-addressed-but-it-cannot-be/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The Palestinian people's needs must be respected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-palestinian-people-s-needs-must-be-respected/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Hillary Clinton wants to see that all Americans have the right to choose a public option in their health care exchange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/hillary-clinton-wants-to-see-that-all-americans-have-the-right-to/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If you want to know if your food contains gluten, aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats or MSG, you simply read the ingredients listed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/if-you-want-to-know-if-your-food-contains-gluten-aspartame-high/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [It reminds me in some ways of the debate taking place in this country and around the world in the late 1930s. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/it-reminds-me-in-some-ways-of-the-debate-taking-place-in-this-country/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I am sure that there are some single payer advocates who think the only thing worth fighting for is single payer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-am-sure-that-there-are-some-single-payer-advocates-who-think-the/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The case to be made is that we have got to get people involved - continue to get people involved in the political process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-case-to-be-made-is-that-we-have-got-to-get-people-involved/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) [Explore all 853 Bernie Sanders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## More Democracy quotes > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. 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But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. 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