What was the big vote in 2016?

For a variety of reasons, the November 8, 2016, election was noteworthy, from two widely unpopular major party candidates squaring off in the campaign to Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but losing the Electoral College vote to Donald Trump (the fifth time in U.S. history when the popular vote winner did not gain the presidency).

Every four years, U.S. presidential elections obviously carry significance. But there's an annual vote that occurs in the U.S. that also warrants attention. That is, people voting with their feet.

After all, when people vote with their feet, they make a powerful statement. That not only goes for international movements - such as the Vietnamese boat people fleeing communism after the Vietnam War or today's Syrian refugees - but also people moving within the U.S.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its latest tally of the national and state populations. Yes, overall levels of U.S. population growth and growth (or lack thereof) in each state warrant attention. But I've always found movement between the states - where people are moving from and to - to be most revealing.

In terms of net domestic migration (population change excluding births, deaths and international immigration), the states experiencing the largest exodus of people to other states from 2015 to 2016 were New York (-191,367), Illinois (-114,144), California (-109,023), New Jersey (-66,791), and Pennsylvania (-45,565). But for one state, that's the same list of top people exporters from 2010 to 2016: New York (-846,669), Illinois (-540,166), California (-383,344), New Jersey (-336,359), and Michigan (-215,872).

As for the states attracting people over the past year, Florida came in best (+207,155), followed by Texas (+125,703), Washington (+67,751), North Carolina (+59,584), and Colorado (+50,216). Again, only one state changed looking at the period of 2010 to 2016: Texas (+866,933), Florida (+866,484), Colorado (+243,671), North Carolina (+242,283), and Arizona (+223,380).

Form a policy perspective, what jumps out from these lists is that the states that lead the nation in exporting people are states that impose high taxes, burdensome regulations and generally large and intrusive government. Among the losers in net domestic migration, only Michigan really has undertaken a significant effort in recent years to become more hospitable for starting up, building and investing in a business.

Meanwhile, the top states gaining people via domestic migration have far more welcoming tax, regulatory and business climates.

Consider the tax issue, for example. Among the six states noted here for losing people to other states, five ranked poor-to-dismal among the 50 states on the Small Business Tax Index 2016 (which I author each year for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council) - Pennsylvania (28th), Illinois (29th), New York (45th), New Jersey (49th), and California (50th). Again, Michigan has been working to improve, and now ranks 14th on the list.

As for the six states highlighted for being big importers of people, all ranked among the best state tax climates: Texas (3rd), Washington (5th), Florida (6th), Colorado (9th), North Carolina (11th), and Arizona (13th).

Whether in the voting booth or voting with their feet, people choose to enhance their quality of life. Of course, the phrase "quality of life" can be pretty vague, and a host of factors come into play. Things can get particularly muddled when it comes to casting ballots for politicians. After all, politicians tend to offer a collection of views, often contradictory, on a wide range of issues. Of course, voters themselves also tend to inconsistent in their policy positions.

While questions naturally swirl around decisions people make in terms of voting with their feet, there also is greater clarity than in the voting booth. Voting with your feet involves far more significant costs and risks than merely casting a ballot. Voting with your feet makes a rather bold statement. And on average, that statement leans strongly in favor of economic freedom and opportunity, which flourish under more limited government.

Sure, there was a big presidential vote in 2016. But as is the case each year, there also were big votes made by Americans using their feet to move between the states.