Election turnout statistics at a glance
Election turnout is easiest to understand when you look at the full picture: national turnout, state-by-state variation, and how turnout changes depending on whether the measure is tied to citizen voting-age population or active registered voters.
The 2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report shows a U.S. total voter turnout of 158,211,780, equal to 64.7% of CVAP. The same report also shows wide state differences, with Minnesota at 76.8% of CVAP and Hawaii at 49.6% of CVAP. Those gaps matter because the national average hides a lot of local variation (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
Quick takeaways
- U.S. total voter turnout in the 2024 EAVS was 158,211,780, or 64.7% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- The highest turnout rate in the 2024 EAVS table was Minnesota at 76.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- The lowest turnout rate in the 2024 EAVS table was Puerto Rico at 48.1% of CVAP, while Guam was 48.8% of active registered voters and Hawaii was 49.6% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- In the Census Bureau’s 2022 congressional election report, turnout was 52.2% of CVAP and the registration rate was 69.1% of CVAP (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- In 2022, 121.9 million citizens of voting age voted and 161.4 million were registered to vote (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
Table of contents
- National turnout benchmarks
- How 2024 turnout differs by state
- High-turnout and low-turnout comparisons
- What the 2022 census report adds
- Reading turnout numbers carefully
National turnout benchmarks
Two national benchmarks in the supplied statistics are useful because they describe different election contexts.
The 2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report puts U.S. total voter turnout at 158,211,780 and turnout at 64.7% of CVAP. That is a participation rate measured against citizen voting-age population, which makes it a useful broad benchmark for national turnout comparisons (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
The Census Bureau’s 2022 congressional election report provides a different view. It reports turnout at 52.2% of CVAP, a registration rate of 69.1% of CVAP, and 75.5% of the registered population voting in 2022 (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
That difference is not a contradiction. It is a reminder that turnout statistics depend on both the election being measured and the denominator being used.
Fast facts from the national data
- 158,211,780 total voters in the 2024 EAVS nationwide tally (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- 64.7% of CVAP turnout in the 2024 EAVS nationwide tally (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- 52.2% of CVAP turnout in the Census Bureau’s 2022 congressional election report (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 69.1% of CVAP registration rate in the Census Bureau’s 2022 congressional election report (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 75.5% of the registered population voted in 2022 (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
How 2024 turnout differs by state
The state list in the 2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report shows a broad spread. Some states cluster in the high 60s and low 70s, while others sit in the 50s or low 60s. The pattern is important because national turnout averages can look stable even when individual states are moving in very different directions (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
Here is a compact comparison of selected 2024 state and territory results from the supplied data.
| Jurisdiction | Total voters | Turnout measure |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 3,271,069 | 76.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Wisconsin | 3,434,185 | 76.0% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Michigan | 5,706,503 | 74.6% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| New Hampshire | 829,090 | 74.2% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| District of Columbia | 323,421 | 71.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| North Carolina | 5,756,106 | 71.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Pennsylvania | 7,074,875 | 71.2% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Colorado | 2,103,184 | 70.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Oregon | 2,269,608 | 70.6% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Texas | 11,488,820 | 57.0% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| California | 11,679,260 | 53.6% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
| Puerto Rico | 1,283,628 | 48.1% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report) |
This table is useful for two reasons.
First, it shows that higher turnout is not limited to small jurisdictions. Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Texas all record very large voter totals, yet their turnout rates vary widely (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
Second, it shows that a high total voter count does not automatically mean a high turnout rate. California leads many states in total voters with 11,679,260, but its turnout rate is 53.6% of CVAP, which is well below several smaller states in the same report (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
State-level pattern notes
- Four states in the supplied data are at or above 74% of CVAP: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New Hampshire (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Several large-population states land around the low 60s or high 50s: New York at 60.2%, Florida at 58.4%, Texas at 57.0%, and California at 53.6% (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- The District of Columbia is at 71.8% of CVAP, which places it among the higher-turnout jurisdictions in the table (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
High-turnout and low-turnout comparisons
A useful way to read election turnout statistics is to compare the top and bottom of the distribution instead of focusing only on the average.
Highest turnout in the supplied 2024 data
- Minnesota: 76.8% of CVAP with 3,271,069 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Wisconsin: 76.0% of CVAP with 3,434,185 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Michigan: 74.6% of CVAP with 5,706,503 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- New Hampshire: 74.2% of CVAP with 829,090 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- District of Columbia: 71.8% of CVAP with 323,421 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- North Carolina: 71.8% of CVAP with 5,756,106 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Pennsylvania: 71.2% of CVAP with 7,074,875 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
These are not tiny differences. Minnesota’s 76.8% of CVAP is 28.7 points above California’s 53.6% of CVAP, even though both are prominent jurisdictions in the same source table (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
Lowest turnout in the supplied 2024 data
- Puerto Rico: 48.1% of CVAP with 1,283,628 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Guam: 48.8% of active registered voters with 5,774 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Hawaii: 49.6% of CVAP with 522,236 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Oklahoma: 53.3% of CVAP with 1,573,274 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- California: 53.6% of CVAP with 11,679,260 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- West Virginia: 54.8% of CVAP with 769,206 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Mississippi: 55.1% of CVAP with 1,225,176 total voters (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
The low end matters because it shows that turnout measurement can diverge sharply even when the voter count is not especially small. California and Texas both had more than 11 million total voters, but both sat below the national 64.7% CVAP benchmark in the 2024 EAVS data (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
A simple spread check
One of the strongest ways to summarize the supplied 2024 data is to compare the highest and lowest turnout rates recorded in the list.
- Highest: Minnesota at 76.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Lowest: Puerto Rico at 48.1% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Spread: 28.7 percentage points.
That spread is large enough to matter for any discussion of election turnout statistics, because it shows that a single national number does not represent the full range of voter participation outcomes.
What the 2022 census report adds
The Census Bureau’s 2022 congressional election report offers a second angle on turnout statistics. It does not just report turnout; it also reports registration and nonvoting counts, which makes the participation pipeline easier to interpret (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
The 2022 participation chain
The report says that in 2022:
- 161.4 million citizens of voting age were registered to vote (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 121.9 million citizens of voting age voted (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 73.1 million citizens of voting age did not vote (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 37.2 million registered citizens did not vote (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 233.5 million was the citizen voting-age population (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
- 255.5 million was the voting-age population (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
A compact reading of those numbers is straightforward: turnout is not only about whether people are eligible or registered; it is also about whether registered citizens actually cast a ballot.
Table of 2022 reference values
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Turnout as a share of CVAP | 52.2% | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Registration rate as a share of CVAP | 69.1% | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Voters as a share of the voting-age population | 47.7% | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Voters as a share of the registered population | 75.5% | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Citizen voting-age population | 233.5 million | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Voting-age population | 255.5 million | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Registered citizens who did not vote | 37.2 million | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
| Citizens of voting age who did not vote | 73.1 million | Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 |
The table makes one thing obvious: turnout depends on the denominator. The same election can look different if it is described as a share of CVAP, a share of the voting-age population, or a share of registered voters.
Reading turnout numbers carefully
Election turnout statistics are easy to misuse when the denominator is not stated. The supplied data uses both CVAP and active registered voters, and the difference is important.
Why the denominator matters
- CVAP-based turnout is used for many state comparisons in the 2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Active registered voter turnout appears for some territories such as American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- The Census Bureau’s 2022 report adds voting-age and registration-based measures that are not identical to CVAP turnout (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).
Practical reading rules
- Match the denominator before comparing two turnout rates.
- Compare total voters and turnout rate together, not separately.
- Use the source label alongside the statistic so the measurement context stays visible.
- Treat national averages as a summary, not as a description of every state.
A final source-backed snapshot
- National 2024 EAVS turnout: 158,211,780 total voters and 64.7% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Highest 2024 state turnout in the supplied list: Minnesota at 76.8% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- Lowest 2024 turnout in the supplied list: Puerto Rico at 48.1% of CVAP (2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report).
- 2022 census turnout benchmark: 52.2% of CVAP with 121.9 million citizens of voting age voting (Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022).