Honestly, trying to pin down exactly how many Americans will vote in 2024 felt like chasing a moving target for months. Now that the dust from the November 5th election has finally settled and the U.S. Census Bureau has released its comprehensive post-election data, we have the hard truth. It’s a bit of a mixed bag.
While the 2020 election set a bar so high it was almost atmospheric, 2024 didn't quite clear it. But don't let that fool you into thinking people stayed home in droves. We actually saw the second-highest turnout rate in over sixty years.
According to official Census Bureau tables released in April 2025, approximately 154 million people cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election. That’s a massive number of humans. To put it in perspective, that is roughly 65.3% of the citizen voting-age population.
Breaking Down the 154 Million Ballots
When we look at the raw data from the FEC and the Census Bureau, the story of 2024 isn't just about the total count; it's about the shift in who actually showed up at the polls.
You've probably heard that 2020 was a "black swan" event for voting because of the pandemic. That year, 66.8% of citizens voted. In 2024, that number dipped slightly to 65.3%. A decline of 1.5 percentage points might sound small, but when you're dealing with the entire U.S. population, that's millions of people who decided to sit this one out or couldn't make it work.
Why the slight dip?
It wasn't just "voter apathy," though that's the easy scapegoat. The USAFacts team analyzed Census data and found that the top reasons people gave for not voting were:
- Lack of interest: About 19.7% of non-voters just weren't feeling it.
- Too busy: 17.8% cited work or school schedules.
- Dislike of candidates: 14.7% couldn't find a name on the ballot they liked.
Interestingly, the "Vote at Home" states—places like Oregon and Washington—still saw much higher participation than states with more restrictive rules. Oregon, for example, boasted a 75.3% turnout among eligible citizens, which is miles ahead of the national average.
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Who Actually Showed Up to Vote?
The demographic breakdown is where things get kinda wild. If you looked at a crowded room of voters in 2024, it wouldn't look the same as the one in 2020.
The Age Gap is a Canyon
If you're under 25, the stats aren't great. Less than half of voters aged 18 to 24 actually voted. Specifically, their turnout was the lowest of any age group.
On the flip side, the 65+ crowd is basically carrying the democracy on its back. They had a 74.7% turnout rate. They were also the only age group that actually saw a higher turnout in 2024 than they did in 2020. Basically, the older you are, the more likely you were to be standing in that line on a Tuesday.
The Education Divide
Education continues to be one of the strongest predictors of whether someone will vote.
- Advanced Degree holders: 82.5% turnout.
- Bachelor’s Degree holders: 77.2% turnout.
- High School graduates: Only 52.5% turnout.
It's a stark reality. There is a nearly 30-point gap between those with a college degree and those without. This "diploma divide" influenced not just how many people voted, but also the final outcome, as non-college voters turned out in lower numbers but leaned more heavily toward the Republican ticket.
Gender and Race: The New Coalition
One of the biggest surprises in the how many Americans will vote in 2024 data was the shift among Hispanic voters. While Hispanic turnout actually declined the most—dropping about 3.1 percentage points since 2020 to a rate of 50.6%—the ones who did show up changed the math.
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Pew Research Center validated voter data shows that Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters (15% in 2024 vs 8% in 2020) and drew nearly even with Harris among Hispanic voters.
Women, as they have in every election since 1976, outvoted men. About 66.9% of eligible women voted, compared to 63.7% of men. Even though men are voting less frequently, they moved toward the GOP by a wider margin, especially men under 50.
How People Voted (The End of the Mail-In Surge?)
Remember 2020 when almost everyone was mailing in ballots? That was a peak we might not see again for a long time.
In 2024, the "traditional" way of voting made a comeback, but with a twist. 39.6% of people voted in person on Election Day. That's the plurality. However, the biggest growth was in in-person early voting, which hit 30.7%.
Mail-in voting dropped significantly, from 43% in 2020 down to 29% in 2024. It seems Americans are split between wanting the convenience of early voting and the "ritual" of going to a physical polling place.
The Geography of Turnout
State-level data from the University of Florida Election Lab shows a massive disparity in participation.
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| State | VEP Turnout Rate |
|---|---|
| Minnesota | 76.35% |
| Wisconsin | 76.64% |
| Michigan | 74.64% |
| Texas | 56.57% |
| Oklahoma | 53.28% |
The "Blue Wall" states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) are consistently at the top. Why? Competitive races and high levels of civic engagement. Meanwhile, states like Texas and West Virginia consistently see lower turnout, often attributed to a mix of restrictive voting laws and a feeling that the outcome is "pre-determined" in non-battleground states.
Why 2024 Still Matters for Future Elections
Even with a 1.5% dip, 154 million people is a massive participation rate by historical standards. For most of the late 20th century, we struggled to hit 55%. We are currently living through an era of high-intensity politics that is driving people to the polls in ways their grandparents didn't.
What we learned is that "low-propensity voters"—people who don't always vote—were a major focus of the 2024 campaigns. Trump's campaign, in particular, was reported to be targeting these infrequent voters. According to Pew, voters who sat out 2020 but showed up in 2024 favored Trump 54% to 42%.
Actionable Insights from the 2024 Turnout
If you are looking at these numbers and wondering what they mean for the next cycle or your own civic participation, here are the takeaways:
- Check your registration early: 73.6% of citizens were registered, but millions who wanted to vote couldn't because of registration deadlines. Using tools like Vote.org or your Secretary of State's website six months before an election is the only way to be safe.
- Early voting is the new normal: With 30.7% of people voting early in person, the "Election Day" squeeze is becoming a thing of the past. If your state allows it, voting the week before can save you hours in line.
- Local elections are where your "missing" neighbors are: The 13.1 percentage point jump from the 2022 midterms to 2024 shows that Americans still treat the Presidency as the "main event." However, the laws that determine how easy it is to vote are made in those low-turnout "off-year" elections.
- Demographics aren't destiny: The 2024 data proved that you can't assume how a group will vote (or if they will show up) based on race or age alone. The "drop-off" voters—the 15% of 2020 Biden voters who just didn't show up in 2024—were as decisive as the people who changed their minds.
The final count of 154 million tells us that while the "fever" of 2020 has cooled slightly, the American electorate remains highly mobilized, deeply divided, and more willing to show up than at almost any point in the last century.