Since 1964, voter turnout rates in U.S. presidential elections have generally fluctuated across all age groups, falling to a national low in 1996, before rising again in the past two decades. Since 1988, there has been a direct correlation with voter participation and age, as people become more likely to vote as they get older. Participation among eligible voters under the age of 25 is the lowest of all age groups, and in the 1996 and 2000 elections, fewer than one third of eligible voters under the age of 25 participated, compared with more than two thirds of voters over 65 years.

In U.S. presidential elections since 1964, voters in the 18 to 24 age bracket have traditionally had the lowest turnout rates among all ethnicities. From 1964 until 1996, white voters in this age bracket had the highest turnout rates of the four major ethnic groups in the U.S., particularly those of non-Hispanic origin. However participation was highest among young Black voters in 2008 and 2012, during the elections where Barack Obama, the U.S.' first African-American major party candidate, was nominated. Young Asian American and Hispanic voters generally have the lowest turnout rates, and were frequently below half of the overall 18 to 24 turnout before the 2000s.

Throughout United States history, voter turnout among the voting eligible population has varied, ranging from below twelve percent in uncontested elections, to 83 percent in the 1876 election. In early years, turnout in presidential elections was relatively low, as the popular vote was not used in every state to decide who electors would vote for. When this was changed in the 1824 election, turnout increased dramatically, and generally fluctuated between seventy and eighty percent during the second half of the nineteenth century. Until the 1840 and 1842 elections, midterm elections also had a higher turnout rate than their corresponding presidential elections, although this trend has been reversed since these years.

Declining turnout in the twentieth century An increase in voting rights, particularly for black males in 1870 and for women in 1920, has meant that the share of the total population who are legally eligible to vote has increased significantly; yet, as the number of people eligible to vote increased, the turnout rate generally decreased. Following enfranchisement, it would take over fifty years before the female voter turnout would reach the same level as males, and over 150 years before black voters would have a similar turnout rate to whites. A large part of this was simply the lack of a voting tradition among these voter bases; however, the Supreme Court and lawmakers across several states (especially in the south) created obstacles for black voters and actively enforced policies and practices that disenfranchised black voter participation. These practices were in place from the end of the Reconstruction era (1876) until the the Voting Rights Act of 1965 legally removed and prohibited many of these obstacles; nonetheless, people of color continue to be disproportionally affected by voting restrictions to this day.

Recent decades In 1971, the Twenty-sixth Amendment lowered the minimum voting age in most states from 21 to 18 years old, which greatly contributed to the six and eight percent reductions in voter turnout in the 1972 and 1974 elections respectively, highlighting a distinct correlation between age and voter participation. Overall turnout remained below sixty percent from the 1970s until the 2004 election, and around forty percent in the corresponding midterms. In recent elections, increased political involvement among younger voters and those from ethnic minority backgrounds has seen these numbers rise, with turnout in the 2018 midterms reaching fifty percent. This was the highest midterm turnout in over one hundred years, leading many at the time to predict that the 2020 election would see one of the largest and most diverse voter turnouts in the past century, although these predictions then reversed with the arival of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, 2020 did prove to have the highest turnout in any presidential election since 1900; largely as a result of mail-in voting, improved access to early voting, and increased activism among grassroots organizations promoting voter registration.

In the 2024 presidential election, about ** percent of voters aged between 18 and 29 participated in the election -- a slight decrease from the previous election year, when about ** percent of youths voted in the election. The highest youth turnout rate was in 1972, when **** percent of voters between the ages of ** and ** voted in the election.

This statistic presents the voter turnout in the U.S. presidential elections from 1908 to 2012. Voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections in 1908 stood at **** percent. Additional information on voter turnout in the United States presidential elections Despite widespread societal and economic changes voter turnout has generally fluctuated between ** and ** percent. Turnouts above ** percent are rare and have not been witnessed since the middle of the 20th Century when American voter turnout was comparably higher. In the United States voting in presidential elections is not legally mandatory as it is in some countries such as Australia. Therefore, many American voters choose to remain absent from the ballot box every four years. In contrast to mid-term elections, years in which the bi-annual congressional elections take place in the absence of presidential campaigns, presidential elections enjoy a relatively larger degree of public attention. This difference could be seen to reflect a population who perceives the power of the president to be of greater influence than the country’s congressional house. This perception is particularly apparent among the millennial population of the United States. Although many millennials harbor a substantial level of mistrust toward many major political and civil institutions, the role of president is seen as relatively more trustworthy. This trend may however be subject to change following the departure of President Obama who proved himself popular among the millennial population in successive campaign victories.

As of November 2020, 66.8 percent of the eligible voting population in the United States voted in the 2020 presidential election. Voter turnout was highest in New Jersey and Minnesota.

In U.S. presidential elections in recent years, those aged 65 and over have had the highest turnout rate, with a participation rate of over two thirds since the 1984 election. Since 1964, white voters have had the highest turnout rates of all major ethnic groups, particularly those of non-Hispanic origin, except in 2012, when African American voters had the highest participation rate. The participation rate among black voters over the age of 65 has increased gradually from 45 percent in 1964, and has been above two thirds in the past three elections. As with younger age groups, Asian American and Hispanic voters have the lowest turnout rates, however participation among older voters is much higher than with those in the younger age brackets.

United States presidential elections are quadrennial elections that decide who will be the President and Vice President of the United States for the next four years. Voter turnout has ranged between 54 and 70 percent since 1964, with white voters having the highest voter turnout rate (particularly when those of Hispanic descent are excluded). In recent decades, turnout among black voters has got much closer to the national average, and in 2008 and 2012, the turnout among black voters was higher than the national average, exceeded only by non-Hispanic white voters; this has been attributed to Barack Obama's nomination as the Democratic nominee in these years, where he was the first African American candidate to run as a major party's nominee. Turnout among Asian and Hispanic voters is much lower than the national average, and turnout has even been below half of the national average in some elections. This has been attributed to a variety of factors, such as the absence of voting tradition in some communities or families, the concentration of Asian and Hispanic communities in urban (non-swing) areas, and a disproportionate number of young people (who are less likely to vote).

In the 2016 presidential election, turnout among those aged 45 to 64 years reached its lowest level, at less than 62 percent, but it then rose above 65 percent in 2020. White voters in this age bracket have had the highest turnout rate in all of these elections, especially white voters of non-Hispanic origin; except for the 2012 election where Black voters had the highest turnout rate. As with other age groups, Asian American and Hispanic voters traditionally have much lower turnout rates, often around half of the national average for those in the 45 to 64 age bracket.

In U.S. presidential elections since 1964, voter turnout among male and female voters has changed gradually but significantly, with women consistently voting at a higher rate than men since the 1980 election. 67 percent of eligible female voters took part in the 1964 election, compared to 72 percent of male voters. This difference has been reversed in recent elections, where the share of women who voted has been larger than the share of men by around four percent since 2004.

In the 1824 U.S presidential election, which was the first where a popular vote was used to determine the overall winner, approximately three percent of the U.S. population voted in the election, while only one percent actually voted for the winner. Over the following decades, restrictions that prevented non-property owning males from voting were gradually repealed, and almost all white men over the age of 21 could vote by the 1856 election. The next major development was the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution following the American Civil War, which granted suffrage to all male citizens of voting age, regardless of race. Turnout then grew to almost twenty percent at the turn of the century, however Jim Crow laws played a large part in keeping these numbers lower than they potentially could have been, by disenfranchising black communities in the south and undoing much of the progress made during the Reconstruction Era. Extension of voting rights Female suffrage, granted to women in 1920, was responsible for the largest participation increase between any two elections in U.S. history. Between the 1916 and 1920 elections, overall turnout increased by almost seven percent, and it continued to grow to 38 percent by the 1940 election; largely due to the growth in female participation over time. Following a slight reduction during the Second World War and 1948 elections, turnout remained at between 36 and forty percent from the 1950s until the 1990s. Between these decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment in 1971 respectively re-enfranchised many black voters in the south and reduced the voting age in all states from 21 to 18 years old. Participation among female voters has also exceeded male participation in all elections since 1980. Recent trends The 1992 election was the first where more than forty percent of the total population cast ballots, and turnout has been above forty percent in all presidential elections since 2004. Along with the extension of voting rights, the largest impact on voter turnout has been the increase in life expectancy throughout the centuries, almost doubling in the past 150 years. As the overall average age has risen, so too has the share of the total population who are eligible to vote, and older voters have had the highest turnout rates since the 1980s. Another factor is increased political involvement among ethnic minorities; while white voters have traditionally had the highest turnout rates in presidential elections, black voters turnout has exceeded the national average since 2008. Asian and Hispanic voter turnouts have also increased in the past twenty years, with the growing Hispanic vote in southern and border states expected to cause a major shift in U.S. politics in the coming decades.

In terms of the most popular presidents, in the 1940 election, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to have been elected by more than one fifth of the total population. Three presidents were elected by more than 22 percent of the total population, respectively Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Richard Nixon in 1972 and Barack Obama in 2008, while Ronald Reagan's re-election in 1984 saw him become the only president in U.S. history to win with the support of more than 23 percent of the total population. While the vote count for the 2020 election is still to be finalized, President-elect Joe Biden has already received 81.28 million votes as of December 02, which would also translate to over 24.5 percent of the total population, and will likely near 25 percent by the end of the counting process.

In U.S. presidential elections between 1964 and 2016, the turnout rate among eligible voters in the 25 to 44 age bracket generally decreased, from 69 percent to 49 percent, although there was an increase of six percent in the 2020 election. White voters in this age bracket have generally had the highest turnout rates in the twentieth century, particularly those of non-Hispanic origin, however African American voters have also had a high participation rate since the 2000 election, even exceeding the white non-Hispanic turnout in 2012. Asian American and Hispanic voters have consistently had the lowest turnout rate among those in this age group, and from 1988 until 2016, neither group had a turnout rate above thirty percent.

In South Korea's 20th presidential election in 2022, turnout increased among voters older than fifty, while it decreased for all younger age groups. Overall voter turnout was at 77.1 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than in 2017.

Traditionally in the United States, voters who identify as white have the highest turnout rate of all major ethnic groups. Since the 1976 election, less than half of all eligible white voters under the age of 25 have participated in presidential elections, even falling below one third in the 2000 election. The overall participation among white voters gradually decreased from 1964 to 1996, before rising again in recent decades, and has fluctuated between 71 and 56 percent. The difference between white voters in the 25 to 44 bracket and the overall white turnout was relatively small in the 1960s and 70s, but has increased in the past three decades as voters over the age of 65 have brought the average up considerably. In the 1960s, white voters over the age of 65 were statistically less likely to vote than those aged 25 to 64, however, older voters have consistently had the highest participation rate in presidential elections since the 1996 election, with the margin of difference increasing steadily.

According to post-election polling, Minnesota had the highest voter turnout among residents between 18 and 29 years old, with ** percent voting in the 2024 presidential election. In comparison, Oklahoma and Arkansas saw the lowest youth voter turnout, with ** percent voting in the presidential election.

As the November 2020 presidential election in the United States grows closer, voters began choosing which Democrat will run against President Donald Trump through a series of primaries. While voter turnout in presidential primaries is generally lower than turnout in presidential elections, Montana had the highest voter turnout in primaries in 2020, with **** percent of voters coming out to vote.

In the U.S. midterm elections, there is a large disparity in voting participation among eligible voters under the age of 25, and all other age groups. Since 1986, statistics show that voter participation directly correlates with age, with those in higher age brackets more likely to vote in midterm elections; a similar correlation has appeared in presidential elections since 1988, although turnout in these elections is significantly higher. From 1966 until 2014, voter participation gradually decreased (although sometimes fluctuated) among voters under 65 years of age; while it generally increased (and plateaued around sixty percent) among those older than 65. The 2018 midterms saw large increases in voter participation across all age groups, with the largest increases coming from younger voters; in spite of this, eligible voters over the age of 65 were still more than twice as likely to vote as those under 25.

Between 1964 and 2020, turnout among black voters in U.S. presidential elections fluctuated between 48 and 62 percent, with the highest turnouts coming in 2008 and 2012, when Barack Obama (the first African American candidate from a major party) was the Democratic candidate. Voter turnout has always been lowest among those under 25 years of age, although younger black voters did participate in high numbers in the 1960s, during the civil rights movement, and again in 2008, during Obama's first election campaign; young black voters also participated in higher numbers than white voters of the same age between 2000 and 2012.

In 1964, black voters over the age of 65 voted at a similar rate to those in the 18 to 24 bracket, however they have consistently had the highest turnout rates among black voters in recent years, overtaking voters in the 45 to 64 years bracket (whose voting rate has consistently been between 60 and 70 percent) in the 1996 election.

In the 2016 United States presidential election, preliminary results indicated that ***** percent of eligible voters in Minnesota voted in the election. Significantly less, only about ***** percent, of eligible Hawaiian voters voted in the election. Eligible voting in the U.S. There are a few requirements necessary for an American to vote in elections. An American is eligible to vote if they are a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization, they meet their state’s residency requirements, and if they are at least 18 years old. In some states, 17-year-olds are allowed to register to vote and vote in primaries if they will be 18 years old before the date of the general election. Voter turnout Despite the few requirements in place in order to vote, the United States trails other developed, democratic nations in voter turnout. There are a few reasons as to why this might be, but two leading reasons for not voting are lack of time and general apathy. Election Day, which takes place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, is not a public holiday, so many voters may not be able to leave work in order to vote before the polls close.

In presidential elections until 1980, eligible male voters had a higher turnout rate than that of their female counterparts, however this trend has reversed in the past four decades. Another trend that began in 1980, was the direct correlation between age and participation, where the likelihood of voting increased with age. Over the 56 year period shown here, turnout among male voters has ranged between 72 percent and 53 percent, with younger voters consistently having the lowest turnout. Since 1964, male voters aged between 18 and 24 have had the lowest participation rate, ranging from just over fifty percent in the 1960s, to below 30 percent in the 2000 election. In many years, those in the oldest age bracket have voted at more than twice the rate of those in the youngest.