Voter Turnout

In presidential elections, an inverse relationship seems to exist between voter turnout and the gravity of the issues facing the voter. The observation comes from P.J. O'Rourke, writing in the November issue of The Atlantic.
For example, the 1828 race between John Qunicy Adams and Andrew Jackson turned on a choice in the nation's direction and attracted 55.2% of the voters. In 1840, the contest between Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison drew 77.5% of the voters to choose between two men offering nothing much. The 72.1% turnout in 1860 election, which was about the civil war, drew ten points fewer voters than did the 1876 election which must have been about something.
The 1932 election about the depression attracted 56.8% and the 1940 contest had a 62.9% turnout.
Making more people eligible to vote also seems to drop the turnout percentage.
O'Rourke got his numbers from the new five-volume, 25-pound Millennial Edition of Historical Statistics of the United States, published in 2006 and costing $1,000.