What is voter turnout?

• A. The total number of ballots cast in a district.
• B. The ratio of polling places to voters.
• C. The percentage of eligible or registered voters who cast a ballot.
• D. The rate of mail-in voting.

Answer: (C)

Turnout is the percentage of eligible or registered voters who cast a ballot. This measures participation by comparing how many people actually vote to how many could vote, so it standardizes across different populations and election sizes. That makes it useful for comparing elections or districts and assessing how engaged voters were.

The other options miss the essential idea: counting ballots cast is just a raw tally, not a rate relative to how many could vote; the ratio of polling places to voters describes access or logistics, not participation; and the rate of mail-in voting focuses on how ballots are cast, not overall turnout.