We got lucky with election day this year - mild temperatures and sunny skies. But how does this compare to what we’ve seen in recent years?

In South Bend, our average high for election day is 54 and our average low is 38. Tonight, we’ll fall down right to that 38° mark, but daytime temperatures will be slightly warmer than normal, reaching into the upper 50’s.

Slightly warmer weather could be a good thing! A study published in the Frontiers of Psychology journal states that generally, warmer temperatures match up with a higher voter turnout. For each increase of 1.8°F (1°C), voter turnout increased by 0.14%.

Dry weather is also correlated with more voters. The same study found that for each inch of rainfall, voter turnout dropped by 1%. That’s good news for today, we’ll be staying dry, and be seeing plenty of sunshine.

The warmest election day in the past 10 years was November 3rd, 2015, when the high temperature was 74. The coldest election happened 3 years ago on November 5th, 2019, when the high was only 46.

As far as rainfall goes, we’ve only had 3 election days with measurable precipitation in the last 10 years.

As you’re heading out to vote today, you may want a light jacket or sweater with these fall-like temperatures, but no umbrella or mittens are needed.