--- title: Most People Don’t Regret Not Voting in 2016 Election: Study description: Most Americans who chose not to vote during the 2016 presidential election say they have no regrets about passing on their democratic right. canonical: https://time.com/4608407/pew-research-poll-election-2016/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-20T20:30:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:13.971Z article:section: Politics og:title: Most People Who Didn't Vote in the 2016 Election Don't Regret It: Study og:description: Some of the non-voters feel their vote wouldn’t have mattered og:url: https://time.com/4608407/pew-research-poll-election-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23055d7dc181fdde/6988b39d86f68e5c376e3011/election-pew-poll-voting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-TRUMP-CLINTON og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most People Who Didn't Vote in the 2016 Election Don't Regret It: Study twitter:description: Some of the non-voters feel their vote wouldn’t have mattered twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23055d7dc181fdde/6988b39d86f68e5c376e3011/election-pew-poll-voting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Most People Who Didn't Vote in the 2016 Election Don't Regret It: Study > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8) (7:19)  _Published 2016-10-31. In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 20, 2016 8:30 PM UTC  This combination photo shows the silhouettes of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on July 18, 2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on February 4, 2016. This combination photo shows the silhouettes of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on July 18, 2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on February 4, 2016. DESK/AFP/Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 20, 2016 8:30 PM UTC Most Americans who chose not to vote during the [2016 presidential election](http://time.com/4607217/electoral-college-faithless-electors-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/) say they have no regrets about passing on their basic democratic right to do so, [a new study has found](http://www.people-press.org/2016/12/20/in-elections-wake-partisans-assess-the-state-of-their-parties). Fifty-five percent of the non-voters interviewed for the Pew Research Center’s latest poll say they do not wish they had voted. Some of those people say their lack of anguish comes from not liking any of the candidates or feeling like their vote wouldn’t matter. Less shockingly, results of the Pew study, which were released Tuesday, also found that 79% of Republicans say they are optimistic about the future of the GOP following the election of Republican [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4607958/donald-trump-university-settlement/?xid=homepage) while Democrats’ optimism has fallen to 61% from 77% before the election. Democrats who were surveyed were more likely than Republicans to say their party has done “too little” to address the concerns of minority groups and women. The Pew poll was conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 12 and interviewed 4,183 adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. ## Transcript I am officially running Aah, yeah [ APPLAUSE ]. for President of the United States [ APPLAUSE ] and we are going to make our country great again. The American Dream is dead, but if I get elected President I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again. I was called by a major major reporter whose name I won't use. And he said to me what you've done has never been done Male 1: In the history of United States politics. And more and more people are resonating to what I'm saying. That's why I'm leading in every poll. We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning. I think I have to win. I'm about winning. Male 2: It's been amazing to follow and exciting because you say some shocking Things [ LAUGH ] You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slabs, and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account. Only Rosie O'Donnell Look at those hands, are they small hands? And he referred to my hands, if they're small something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem there, I guarantee it. I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters okay? You gotta see this guy, I don't know what I said. I don't remember. [ APPLAUSE ] Here's a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming and everything else when we're talking. I mean what can happen, and we're not allowed, you know the guards are very gently with him, he's walking out like big high fives. Smiling, laughing, like to punch him in the face. [ APPLAUSE ] USA! USA! USA! When Mexico sends their people, they're not bringing their best. They're sending drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapist. I will build a great great wall On our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. The former president of Mexico Vicente Fox, he said today, and I'm quoting him. He said, I'm not going to pay for that quote, F'ing wall. How are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will and the wall just got ten feet taller, believe me. Zero tolerance for criminal aliens, zero, zero. Now a different threat challenges the whole world. Radical Islamic Terrorism. Donald J Trump is calling for a total and complete shut down. Of Muslims entering the United States. Donald Trump, let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? You have sacrificed nothing, and no one [ APPLAUSE ] I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs. Built great structures. I've had tremendous success. Those are sacrifices? Sure I think they're sacrifices. [ MUSIC ] As the proud daughter of your nominee I am here to tell you this is the moment and Donald Trump is the person to make America great again. [ LAUGH ] I humbly and gratefully accept. Your nomination for the presidency of the United States. And we will make America great again. God Bless you and good night. I love you. [ Music ] Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican nominee for President, Donald J. Trump. And the Democratic nominee for President Hilary Clinton . >> You're telling the enemy everything you wanted to do . >> No we're not . >> See. you're telling the enemy everything you wanted to do . >> There are different . >> Secretary, is it President Obama's fault? Wrong >> That is absolutely Wrong . >> Prove over and over again. Wrong. I also have a much better temperament than she has, you know? If Hillary knew how she would have done it already, period, end of story. I won the debate, I stayed calm just like I promised, and it is over. Goodnight, [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ LAUGH ] I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. [ LAUGH ] Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the ****. I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade old video Are one of them. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted women, do you understand that? No I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understood what was said. This was lock Locker room talk . >> Just breaking a damning report from the New York Times that claims Donald Trump inappropriately touched two women, the first nearly [ INAUDIBLE ] That more women now accuse Donald Trump of improper physical contact . >> The People Magazine writer who said that Donald Trump kissed her and groped her in 2005 while she was interviewing him and his then pregnant wife Melania . >> These vicious claims About me, of inappropriate conduct with women. Are totally, and absolutely false. I didn't know any of these women, I didn't see these women. And I didn't even apologize to my wife, who's sitting right here, cuz I didn't do anything. Thank you. Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely, Sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election? I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at anything now, I'll look at it at the time. And I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election. If I win. 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