Clinton has around 59,230,000 votes. Trump around 59,023,000 Compare that to 2012: Obama 65,915,795 Romney 60,933,504 2008: Obama 69,498,516 McCain 59,948,323 Yes....The enthusiasm for Clinton wasn't there. However, there was efforts by the GOP to surprise the vote in Florida, Ohio, PA, Michigan, Wisconsin and NC. Notice how Trump got less votes than McCain and Romney.
I'm definitely worried about voter suppression. However, what we have in front of us is what you called an "uncontrolled experiment." Obama was an amazing campaigner and actually raised voter enthusiasm to new levels (even though that may turn some people's stomachs). Meanwhile, we had two of the most disliked candidates in the history of the country, so we should have seen massively lower voter totals coming. With so many moving variables from election to election, it's hard to pin it on one effect as a major cause. I think this is something that the forces of voter suppression are probably counting on. The only thing to do is fight it and to get more states to allow easy early voting, for instance. The easier it gets to (legally, of course) vote, in a democracy, the better.
