Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network - Nonprofit VOTE Guide to Getting Voter Turnout Data

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Nonprofit VOTE Guide to Getting Voter Turnout Data

Learn more about voter turnout in your state, county or local jurisdiction

The U.S. Election Project summarizes official data from state election offices back to 1980. The U.S. Census site provides post election surveys with trends by different voting groups for the last four decades. Your state or local election sites often have election results dating back four or more decades.

U.S. and the States

United States Election Project – State Voter Turnout Data since 1980

The U.S. Election Project is the best source of information for state and national voter turnout dating back to the 1980 presidential election. It features state by state turnout statistics, based on official results reported by state election offices.

The site provides data both in “Voting-Age Population” (VAP) and “Voting-Eligible Population” (VEP).

Voting Age Population(VAP) is the number of adults (18 and over) living in the US or within a specific state. It includes people who are not eligible to vote (like non-citizens and ex-offenders), but excludes eligible voters living overseas.
Voting Eligible Population (VEP) is the number of all US citizens 18 and over living in the U.S. or within a specific state, minus an estimate of those who can’t vote due to any state’s particular disenfranchisement laws. The U.S. total VEP includes an estimate of those overseas eligible to vote.

Website by Dr. Michael McDonald of George Mason University

US Census – Voting and Registration based on survey data from the Current Population Survey – 1964 to present

The US Census site has estimates of voter turnout and voter registration, based on post-election survey data of mid-term and presidential elections.

Census survey numbers are broken down by several variables, including state, citizenship, ethnicity, gender, age and educational achievement.
Note that the estimated numbers of voters are often given in the thousands - meaning that a number which appears as “103,000” actually indicates “103,000,000."

CQ Press Almanac

A paid service and database for colleges, libraries and institutions.

States and Counties

Secretary of State – State Elections Division (link provided by the Federal Voting Assistance Program)

Voter registration data on state websites is often provided separately under a "Voter Registration" section.

Voter Turnout data, or the number of people casting ballots certified and counted, varies from state to state. This information can generally be found contained within election results.

Web links to voter turnout or registration data for a current election may differ from past or archived elections.

Counties, Cities and Local Jurisdictions

County/City Boards of Elections (link provided by the Overseas Vote Foundation)

Local Boards of Elections often report voter registration and turnout data for their locality.

International

International – IDEA

The Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) is the largest source of voter turnout information around the world.

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