TRENTON — Last month's elections continued what has become a striking trend in New Jersey recently: People are voting at historically low rates.

Though U.S. Sen. Cory Booker — a nationally known politician — won his first full term in Washington and all 12 of the state's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for grabs, only 36 percent of New Jersey's registered voters cast ballots in November's midterm elections. It was the lowest voter turnout for a regularly scheduled federal election in state history.

In fact, each of New Jersey's last seven statewide elections have set some kind of record for low turnout — a stretch of voter apathy that experts blame partly on citizens being frustrated with partisan bickering and campaign finance issues.

"I think people are fed up with government," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "How do you expect people to go out and vote for an institution in which about one in 10 have any faith in?"

Experts say other factors play a part, as well: the state's lack of competitive races, the schedule of its elections, and the method in which New Jersey votes. And the numbers are unlikely to improve next November, they add.

The Garden State's totals this year mirrored a national trend. Only 36 percent of eligible voters cast ballots across the U.S. — the lowest turnout since 1942, when a mere 34 percent voted in an election held the first full year the nation fought in World War II, according to numbers from the United States Election Project, a group that measures vote totals.

Eligible voters include both registered voters and those who are old enough to vote but aren't registered. By that measure, New Jersey's turnout this year was even lower, at about 31 percent — making it one of 12 states that saw less than a third of its eligible voters cast ballots.

"New Jersey is a microcosm of what was happening in some of the largest states in the country," said Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida who runs the Election Project.

HISTORICAL NUMBERS

Before 1998, no federal or gubernatorial election in New Jersey history had ever drawn less than 50 percent of registered voters. Many presidential elections — which usually attract the largest number of ballots — topped 80 percent. In 1960, when John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon, 91 percent showed up at the polls.

The numbers began to fluctuate in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

Still, 2008 was a watershed. Barack Obama was elected the nation's first black president in a race that saw the largest voter turnout across the U.S. since the 1960s — a number driven up by a large swath of young residents registering to vote for the first time. In New Jersey, 73 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

"People were highly motivated to vote," said Brigid Harrison, a professor of political science at Montclair State University.

N.J. VOTER TURNOUT THROUGH THE YEARS 1960

Presidential election: John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon

91 percent 1978

U.S. Senate election: Bill Bradley and Jeff Bell

57 percent 1984

Presidential election: President Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale

79 percent 1985

Gubernatorial election: Gov. Tom Kean beat Peter Shapiro

52 percent 1992

Presidential election: Bill Clinton beat President George H.W. Bush

82 percent 1993

Gubernatorial election: Christie Whitman beat Gov. Jim Florio

65 percent 2002

U.S. Senate election: Sen. Frank Lautenberg beat Doug Forrester

46 percent 2008

Presidential election: Barack Obama beat John McCain

73 percent 2009

Gubernatorial election: Chris Christie beat Gov. Jon Corzine

47 percent 2012

Presidential election: President Obama beat Mitt Romney

67 percent 2013

Gubernatorial election: Gov. Chris Christie beat Barbara Buono

40 percent 2014

U.S. Senate election: Sen. Cory Booker beat Jeff Bell

36 percent

But it's been a different story since then. In 2009, Republican Chris Christie beat Gov. Jon Corzine in an election that drew 47 percent of New Jersey's registered voters — then a record low for a gubernatorial race in the state. (By comparison, the last time an incumbent governor lost a re-election bid — when Republican Christie Whitman defeated Gov. Jim Florio in 1993 — 65 percent voted.)

In 2010, New Jersey's midterm elections attracted only 42 percent — tying the state's then-record low turnout for a regularly scheduled federal election.

In 2011, New Jersey saw the lowest turnout for an election in which state Legislature seats topped the ticket: 27 percent.

In 2012, Obama's re-election drew only a 67 percent