According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, 57 percent of surveyed white voters reported voting for Donald Trump. In contrast, 85 percent of Black voters reported voting for Kamala Harris.

During the weeks leading up to the presidential election, early voting began in almost all states, with over 80 million ballots being cast nationally as of Election Day. Although 39 percent of mail-in and early in-person votes were cast by voters aged 65 or older, ten percent of those aged 18 to 29 years old voted early.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, almost two-thirds of voters who had never attended college reported voting for Donald Trump. In comparison, a similar share of voters with advanced degrees reported voting for Kamala Harris.

According to a September 2024 survey of adults in the United States, 91 percent of those with a college degree said that they were definitely voting in the 2024 presidential election. In comparison, only 77 percent of those without college degrees were definitely planning to vote in November.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, Donald Trump received the most support from men between the ages of 45 and 64. In comparison, 61 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 29 reported voting for Kamala Harris.

According to a September 2024 survey of adults in the United States, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation were the most likely to vote in the 2024 presidential election, with 93 percent and 90 percent stating that they were definitely going to vote, respectively. In comparison, 71 percent of Gen Z and Millennial Americans said they were definitely planning to vote in November.

According to results on November 6, 2024, former President Donald Trump had received 277 Electoral College votes in the race to become the next President of the United States, securing him the presidency. With all states counted, Trump received a total of 312 electoral votes.

Candidates need 270 votes to become the next President of the United States.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, 53 percent of surveyed women reported voting for Kamala Harris. In the race to become the next President of the United States, 55 percent of men reported voting for Donald Trump.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, 46 percent of voters with a 2023 household income of 30,000 U.S. dollars or less reported voting for Donald Trump. In comparison, 51 percent of voters with a total family income of 100,000 to 199,999 U.S. dollars reported voting for Kamala Harris.

According to an October 2024 survey, young Americans were much more likely to vote for Kamala Harris in the November 2024 presidential elections. Of those between the ages of 18 and 29, 60 percent said they were planning on voting for Harris, compared to 33 percent who said they planned on voting for Trump. In contrast, Trump was much more popular among those between 45 and 64 years old.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, Donald Trump received the most support from white voters between the ages of 45 and 64. In comparison, 84 percent of Black voters between the ages of 18 and 29 reported voting for Kamala Harris.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, roughly 90 percent of voters who considered the economy their most important issue voted for Donald Trump. In comparison, 74 percent of those who considered abortion their most important issue voted for Kamala Harris.

In 2022, there were 161.42 million people registered to vote in the United States. This is a decrease from the previous election, when 168.31 million people were registered to vote.

Voting requirements

While voting laws differ from state to state, the basic requirements are the same across the entire country. People are allowed to vote in elections in the United States if they are a U.S. citizen, meet their state’s residency requirements, are at least 18 years old before Election Day, and are registered to vote before the registration deadline.

Vote early and often

Generally, younger people are not registered to vote at the same rate as older individuals. Additionally, young people tend not to vote as much as older people, particularly in midterm elections. However, in the 2016 presidential election, a significant number of people across all age groups voted in the election, resulting in a high voter turnout.

According to an April 2024 survey, over 40 percent of voters in the United States would consider voting for a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential elections. However, 24 percent of Republicans and 21 percent of Democrats reported that they would not consider voting third-party.

According to exit polling in ten key states of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, roughly 45 percent of voters with someone in their household belonging to a labor union voted for Donald Trump. In comparison, 53 percent reported voting for Kamala Harris.

For the 2024 presidential election in Indonesia, the national participation rate was at 81.78 percent. This indicated a slightly decreased turnout compared to the previous election held in 2019. Participation rate or voters turnout refers to the proportion of eligible voters who actually voted in the election.

With over 204 million registered voters representing around 75 percent of its population, Indonesia held the world's largest single-day election to choose a new president, vice president, parliamentary and local representatives on February 14, 2024.

Since 1824, when the popular vote was first used to determine the overall winner in U.S. presidential elections, the share of the population who participate in these elections has gradually increased. Despite this increase, participation has never reached half of the total population; partly due to the share of the population below the voting age of eighteen, but also as many potential voters above the age of eighteen do not take part, or are ineligible to vote. For example, in the 2016 election, approximately twenty million U.S. adults were ineligible to vote, while over 94 million simply did not participate; in this election, Donald Trump won the electoral college with 63 million votes, which means that 19.4 percent of the total U.S. population (or 27.3 percent of eligible voters) voted for the current president.

Development throughout history

While the figures for the 2016 election may appear low, over 42 percent of the total population participated in this election, which was the third highest participation rate ever recorded (after the 2008 and 2020 elections). In the first election decided by a popular vote in 1824, only 350 thousand votes were cast from a total population of 10.6 million, although this increased to over four million votes by the 1856 election, as restrictions that applied to non-property holding white males were gradually lifted. Participation levels then dropped during the Civil War and Reconstruction era, as those who lived in Confederate states could not vote in 1864, and many white southerners were restricted or discouraged in the following election. Although universal suffrage was granted to black males in the wake of the Civil War, the majority of black Americans lived in the southern states, where lawmakers introduced Jim Crow laws in the late 1800s to suppress and disenfranchise the black vote, as well as poor white voters.

The next major milestone was the introduction of women's suffrage in 1920, which saw voter participation increase by seven million votes (or seven percent) between the 1916 and 1920 elections. Between the 1910s and 1970s, the Great Migration saw many black Americans move away from the south to northern and western states, where they faced fewer obstacles when voting and greater economic mobility. This period of black migration began to decline in the 1960s and 1970s, during which time many Jim Crow laws were repealed in the south, through legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Female participation also grew gradually, and has exceeded male voting participation in all elections since the 1980s. The minimum voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in all states in 1971, although this seemingly had a minimal impact on the short-term trajectory of voter participation.

Recent elections

The 1992 election was the first in which more than one hundred million votes were cast, which was almost 41 percent of the total population. All elections since 2004 have also had more than one hundred million votes cast, which has again been more than forty percent of the total population. Another key factor in the increase in voter participation is the fact that people are living longer than ever before, and that those aged 65 and over have had the highest turnout levels since 1992. While some figures may be subject to change, the 2020 election set new records for voter turnout. Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, which many thought could cause the lowest turnout in decades, a record number of voters cast their ballots early or by mail, setting a new record of votes just shy of 160 million. In the 2020 election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump received 81.3 million and 74.2 million votes respectively, both beating Barack Obama's previous record of 69.3 million ballots in 2008.

According to an September 2024 survey of adults in the United States, 87 percent of those with a household income of over 50,000 U.S. dollars said that they were definitely voting in the 2024 presidential election. In comparison, 72 percent of those making less than 50,000 U.S. dollars were definitely planning to vote in November.

According to a November 2023 survey, motivation levels among 18 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 to vote in the 2024 presidential election has lessened compared to past elections, compared to only eight percent of voters between 35 and 49 years old.

In the UK's general election of 2024 voter turnout was estimated to have been 60 percent, the lowest turnout since 2001, when it was 59.4 percent. Between 1922 and 1997 voter turnout never fell below 70 percent, but in 2001 it dropped to just 59.4 percent. Since that low point, voter turnout has gradually recovered and reached 72.2 percent in the Brexit Referendum of 2016, which is still some way off the peak of 83.9 percent recorded in the 1950 General Election. The trend of low voter turnouts in recent times is also reflected in the European elections, which had its lowest voter turnout in 2014 at 42.61 percent. Labour rides wave of discontent to power in 2024 Labour's victory in the 2024 general election was broadly anticipated, with Keir Starmer's party enjoying a comfortable lead in opinion polls from late 2021 onwards. This gap widened further during Liz Truss' short time as Prime Minister, following an acute economic crisis in late 2022 which saw her resign after just 44 days, and propel Rishi Sunak to power. Although Sunak restored a degree of stability after the reigns of his predecessors, Johnson and Truss, he ultimately failed to convince the public he could address the main issues facing the country. By the time of the election, Labour was seen as being more competent on the economy, immigration, and healthcare, the three major issues for voters on the eve of the election. Among prospective Labour voters, the main reason for almost half of people intending to vote for them was to "get the Tories out", compared with just five percent who agreed with their policies. A winter election in 2019 The irregular timing of the 2019 general election, which took place on December 12, 2019, was due to the political chaos caused by Brexit, and the failure of the UK to agree a deal to leave the European Union that year. The Conservatives won 365 seats in this election, achieving a large enough majority to get their Brexit deal approved in the House of Commons after three and a half years of political chaos. Although the Conservatives then led the polls throughout much of 2020 and 2021, their popularity proceeded to sink considerably, especially due to Boris Johnson's alleged involvement in a number of political scandals, particularly that of "partygate". Following an avalanche of resignations from his government, Johnson himself resigned on July 7, 2022, paving the way for Truss to succeed him a few months later