Voter turnout in the United States presidential elections
The following is a listing of all of the voter turnouts in each United States presidential election going back to 1828.
| Election | Voting Age Population (VAP) (thousands)[1] |
Turnout (thousands)[1] |
% Turnout of VAP[1][2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1789 | |||
| 1792 | |||
| 1796 | |||
| 1800 | |||
| 1804 | |||
| 1808 | |||
| 1812 | |||
| 1816 | |||
| 1820 | |||
| 1824 | |||
| 1828 | 57.6% | ||
| 1832 | 55.4% | ||
| 1836 | 57.8% | ||
| 1840 | 80.2% | ||
| 1844 | 78.9% | ||
| 1848 | 72.7% | ||
| 1852 | 69.6% | ||
| 1856 | 78.9% | ||
| 1860 | 81.2% | ||
| 1864 | 73.8% | ||
| 1868 | 78.1% | ||
| 1872 | 71.3% | ||
| 1876 | 81.8% | ||
| 1880 | 79.4% | ||
| 1884 | 77.5% | ||
| 1888 | 79.3% | ||
| 1892 | 74.7% | ||
| 1896 | 79.3% | ||
| 1900 | 73.2% | ||
| 1904 | 65.2% | ||
| 1908 | 65.4% | ||
| 1912 | 58.8% | ||
| 1916 | 61.6% | ||
| 1920 | 49.2% | ||
| 1924 | 48.9% | ||
| 1928 | 56.9% | ||
| 1932 | 75,768 | 39,817 | 52.6% |
| 1936 | 80,174 | 45,647 | 56.9% |
| 1940 | 84,728 | 49,815 | 58.8% |
| 1944 | 85,654 | 48,026 | 56.1% |
| 1948 | 95,573 | 48,834 | 51.1% |
| 1952 | 99,929 | 61,552 | 61.6% |
| 1956 | 104,515 | 62,027 | 59.3% |
| 1960 | 109,672 | 68,836 | 62.8% |
| 1964 | 114,090 | 70,098 | 61.4% |
| 1968 | 120,285 | 73,027 | 60.7% |
| 1972 | 140,777 | 77,625 | 55.1% |
| 1976 | 152,308 | 81,603 | 53.6% |
| 1980 | 163,945 | 86,497 | 52.8% |
| 1984 | 173,995 | 92,655 | 53.3% |
| 1988 | 181,956 | 91,587 | 50.3% |
| 1992 | 189,493 | 104,600 | 55.2% |
| 1996 | 196,789 | 96,390 | 49.0% |
| 2000 | 209,787 | 105,594 | 50.3% |
| 2004 | 219,553 | 122,349 | 55.7% |
| 2008 | 229,945 | 131,407 | 57.1% |
| 2012 | 235,248 | 129,235 | 54.9% |
Note: While final exact figures for 2012 are yet to be calculated, the Bipartisan Research Center has stated that turnout for 2012 was 57.5 percent of the eligible voters, which they claim was a decline from 2008. They estimate that as a percent of eligible voters, turn out was: 2000, 54.2%; in 2004 60.4%; 2008 62.3%; and 2012 57.5%.[3] These were the same figures as given by the Center for the Study of the American Electorate.[4]
Later analysis by the University of California, Santa Barbara's American Presidency Project found that there were 235,248,000 people of voting age in the United States in the 2012 election, resulting in 2012 voting age population (VAP) turnout of 54.9%.[5] The total increase in VAP between 2008 and 2012 (5,300,000) was the smallest increase since 1964, bucking the modern average of 9,000,000-13,000,000 per cycle. One possible reason for this relates to the effects that the Great Recession and stricter border control mechanisms had on net migration to the United States from Mexico from 2009 to 2012; net migration from Mexico to the United States plummeted to zero (and potentially net-negative totals) during this time, and for the first time in more than 80 years, the Mexican-born population in the United States decreased.[6] Since the broadest measurement of VAP takes into account all adults who are living in the United States regardless of voter registration or citizenship status, such abnormally large reductions in immigration during this period would affect the overall number.
References
- 1 2 3 Between 1932 and 2008: "Table 397. Participation in Elections for President and U.S. Representatives: 1932 to 2010" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012. U.S. Census Bureau.
- ↑ Between 1828-1928: "Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections: 1828 - 2008". The American Presidency Project. UC Santa Barbara. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
- ↑ Bipartisan Research Center, "2012 Voter Turnout," November 8, 2012. http://bipartisanpolicy.org/library/report/2012-voter-turnout
- ↑ "Election results 2012: Report reveals 2012 voter turnout was lower than 2008 and 2004" Chanel 5 report. November 15, 2012. wptv.com.
- ↑ UC Santa Barbara (American Presidency Project), "Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections", May 4, 2013. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/turnout.php
- ↑ Pew Hispanic Trends Project, "Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less", April 23, 2012. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/23/net-migration-from-mexico-falls-to-zero-and-perhaps-less/
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