59.3%
2024 (latest)
VOTER TURNOUT
percent of voting-age population, presidential elections · 1964–2024 · higher is better · Census Bureau, CPS Voting and Registration, Table A-1
69.3%
1964
69.3%
high · 1964
54.2%
low · 1996
−10 pts
since 1964
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. Share of the voting-age population who told the Census they voted, presidential years only. Self-reported, so it runs several points above turnout counted from ballots; the trend, not the level, is the signal. The Census's citizen-only rate runs higher still but only exists from 1978, so this series uses the voting-age-population measure, which covers every election back to 1964. Midterms run structurally lower and are excluded.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/voting-historical-time-series.html
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Long-Run-Indicators
Data
| Year | Voter Turnout | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 59.3% | −2.0 pts |
| 2020 | 61.3% | +5.3 pts |
| 2016 | 56.0% | −0.5 pts |
| 2012 | 56.5% | −1.7 pts |
| 2008 | 58.2% | −0.1 pts |
| 2004 | 58.3% | +3.6 pts |
| 2000 | 54.7% | +0.5 pts |
| 1996 | 54.2% | −7.1 pts |
| 1992 | 61.3% | +3.9 pts |
| 1988 | 57.4% | −2.5 pts |
| 1984 | 59.9% | +0.7 pts |
| 1980 | 59.2% | +0.0 pts |
| 1976 | 59.2% | −3.8 pts |
| 1972 | 63.0% | −4.8 pts |
| 1968 | 67.8% | −1.5 pts |
| 1964 | 69.3% | — |
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