Voter Concern Graph Effective ?

The graphs used in the USA Today Article,Voter Turnouts ,the author uses a graph from the American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate to help reinforce the idea that the turnout for the primaries are something to be concerned about.

The picture is of two graphs. One is for the Republican turnout and the other is for the Democratic voter turnout, both from 1962.

The graphs at first glance both seem to reinforce the authors concern. They both show a sharp declining line. If a person was to glance at this then they would assume there is a something to panic about as it looks like voter participation is at speedy decline.

But if one was to look again at the graph in more detail, it shows that voter turn out for the primaries was never really high. Looking at the Republican one, in 1962 the turnout was above 10%t. At the end of 2006 it is maybe 8%. So in a span of 44 years the participation maybe dropped 4%. Is that really bad? Sure it's declining. But not as rapidly or concerning as the author would have you think.

The Democrat one is slightly worse. Its dropped 11% in 44 years. But considering the lengthy span of time, its not that threatening, or at least not unpredictable.

The graphs are effective only as a picture of lines showing a drop in voter turnout to give a quick visual summary of the problem. In depth they don't really offer any real value, except to show a slight decline in political interest in the last decades. If anything it gives the reader something flashy to look at and that is about it.