{"id":46002,"date":"2023-07-12T13:58:17","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T18:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/"},"modified":"2024-06-21T09:46:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T13:46:27","slug":"voter-turnout-2018-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"1. Voter turnout, 2018-2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"terminology\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;terminology&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>Terminology<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>American Trends Panel: <\/strong>Pew Research Center\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">online probability survey panel<\/a>, which consists of more than 12,000 adults who take two to three surveys each month. Some panelists have been participating in surveys since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Defectors\/Defection:<\/strong> People who either switch their vote to a different party\u2019s candidate from one election to the next, or those who in a given election do not support the candidate of the party they usually support. Also referred to as <strong>\u201cvote switching.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Drop off\/Drop-off voters:<\/strong> People who vote in a given election but not in a subsequent election. The term commonly refers to people who vote in a presidential election but not in the next midterm. It can also apply to any set of elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Midterm elections: <\/strong>General elections held in all states and the District of Columbia in the even-numbered years between presidential elections. All U.S. House seats are up for election every two years, as are a third of U.S. Senate seats (senators serve six-year terms).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mobilize: <\/strong>Efforts by candidates, political campaigns and other organizations to encourage or facilitate eligible citizens to turn out to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nonvoter:<\/strong> Citizens who didn\u2019t have a record of voting in any voter file or told us they didn\u2019t vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Panel survey: <\/strong>A type of survey that relies on a group of people who have agreed to participate in multiple surveys over a time period. Panel surveys make it possible to observe how individuals change over time because the answers they give to questions in a current survey can be compared with their answers from a previous survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Party affiliation\/Party identification:<\/strong> Psychological attachment to a particular political party, either thinking of oneself as a member of the party or expressing greater closeness to one party than another. Our study categorizes adults as Democrats or Republicans using their self-reported party identification in a survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Split-ticket voting\/Straight-ticket voting:<\/strong> Voters typically cast ballots for more than one office in a general election. People who vote only for candidates of the same party are \u201cstraight-ticket\u201d voters, while those who vote for candidates of different parties are \u201csplit-ticket\u201d voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Turnout: <\/strong>Refers to \u201cturning out\u201d to vote, or simply \u201cvoting.\u201d Also used to refer to the share of eligible adults who voted in a given election (e.g., \u201cThe turnout in 2020 among the voting eligible population in the U.S. was 67%\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Validated voters\/Verified voter: <\/strong>Citizens who told us in a post-election survey that they voted in the 2022 general elections <em>and<\/em> have a record for voting in a commercial voter file. (The two terms are interchangeable).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Voter file: <\/strong>A list of adults that includes information such as whether a person is registered to vote, which elections they have voted in, whether they voted in person or by mail, and additional data. Voter files do not say who a voter cast a ballot for. Federal law requires states to maintain electronic voter files, and businesses assemble these files to create a nationwide list of adults along with their voter information.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were three of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electproject.org\/election-data\/voter-turnout-data\">the highest-turnout U.S. elections<\/a> of their respective types in decades. About two-thirds (66%) of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election \u2013 the highest rate for any national election since 1900. The 2018 election (49% turnout) had the highest rate for a midterm since 1914. Even the 2022 election\u2019s turnout, with a slightly lower rate of 46%, exceeded that of all midterm elections since 1970.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57944\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-01-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ebe6e6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ebe6e6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-01.png?resize=480,566 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-01.png?resize=782,922 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-01.png?resize=840,990 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"495\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-01.png?w=420\" alt=\"Chart shows most Americans are not consistent voters\" class=\"wp-image-57944 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While sizable shares of the public vote either consistently or not at all, many people vote intermittently. Given how closely divided the U.S. is politically, these intermittent voters often determine the outcome of elections and how the balance of support for the two major political parties swings between elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, 70% of U.S. adult citizens who were eligible to participate in all three elections between 2018 and 2022 voted in at least one of them, with about half that share (37%) voting in all three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adults who voted in at least one election during the period divide evenly between Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party or Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in their current party affiliation (48% each). The subset who voted in all three elections are similarly divided (49% Democrats, 50% Republicans). Citizens who did not vote in any of the three tilt Republican by 46% to 41%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats outnumbered Republicans among the 8% of adult citizens who voted in 2018 and 2020 but not 2022 (55% Democratic, 40% Republican). A similar-sized group (8%) voted in 2020 and 2022 but not 2018, and this group\u2019s composition tilts Republican (57%, vs. 40% Democratic). The 12% who voted in 2020 and opted out of both the 2018 and 2022 midterms were roughly evenly divided among Democrats (46%) and Republicans (43%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given the sizable number of intermittent voters and chronic nonvoters, as well as the fact that this group, collectively, is fairly evenly divided in partisan affiliation, both parties have plenty of <em>potential<\/em> supporters on the sidelines in any given election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;political-preferences-differ-a-lot-by-race-and-ethnicity-and-so-does-voter-turnout&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"political-preferences-differ-a-lot-by-race-and-ethnicity-and-so-does-voter-turnout\">Political preferences differ a lot by race and ethnicity \u2026 and so does voter turnout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57948\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-02-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eae8e9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eae8e9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-02.png?resize=480,652 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-02.png?resize=620,842 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"421\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-02.png?w=310\" alt=\"Chart shows the racial and ethnic divide in 2022 vote choice for U.S. House\" class=\"wp-image-57948 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Race and ethnicity are fundamental dividing lines in American politics, with political preferences and electoral participation varying greatly by race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the current partisan alignment, Black, Hispanic and Asian voters are all majority Democratic groups, to different degrees, though Republican candidates have gained some ground in the past four years among Hispanic voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black voters remain Democratic stalwarts, voting 93% to 5% for the party\u2019s candidates for U.S. House in 2022. Hispanic and Asian voters clearly favored Democratic candidates as well, but by narrower margins: 60% to 39% for Hispanic voters, and 68% to 32% for Asian voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57954\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-03-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e5e3d8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e5e3d8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-03.png?resize=480,703 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-03.png?resize=620,908 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"454\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-03.png?w=310\" alt=\"Chart shows White adults voted more consistently than those of other racial or ethnic backgrounds from 2018 through 2022\" class=\"wp-image-57954 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But White Americans are much more consistent voters than Black, Hispanic or Asian Americans. Compared with the national average of 37% who voted in 2018, 2020 and 2022, 43% of White citizens who were age eligible to vote in all three elections did so; just 24% did not vote in any of these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black, Hispanic and Asian adults lagged far behind, with 27% of Black, 19% of Hispanic and 21% of Asian age-eligible citizens voting in all three elections. Hispanic citizens were most likely to have not voted in any of the most recent three general elections (47%, compared with 36% for Black and 31% for Asian citizens ages 22 and older in 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"differences-by-education\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Differences by education<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past few election cycles, Republicans have gained ground among White adults who do not have a college degree, who make up 41% of eligible voters. This group is about average in its consistency of voter turnout, with 35% of those ages 22 and over in 2022 voting in 2018, 2020 and 2022, and 31% voting in none of these three elections. White voters without a college degree favored Republican House candidates 66% to 32% in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By contrast, White adults with college degrees vote at very high rates: 56% of those eligible turned out in all three elections and just 13% participated in none of them. College-educated White adults make up 24% of the eligible electorate but about a third of voters in 2022 (34%). White voters with college degrees had tilted Republican for several decades, but in the past four elections have favored Democratic candidates (52% to 47% in 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57957\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-04-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e7e3dd\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e7e3dd;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-04.png?resize=480,1041 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-04.png?resize=620,1344 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"672\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-04.png?w=310\" alt=\"Chart shows White adults without a college degree\nstrongly prefer GOP candidates, vote at\nlower rates than those with degrees\" class=\"wp-image-57957 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The education gap in White voters\u2019 preferences in 2022 was not apparent among either Black or Hispanic voters (the sample size of Asian voters without a college degree was too small to produce a reliable estimate). College-educated Black and Hispanic adults also voted at higher rates than Black and Hispanic adults without a college degree in each of the three elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A small education gap appeared in 2020 presidential preference among Hispanic voters: College-educated Hispanic voters preferred Biden by a margin of 69% to 29%, while Hispanic voters without a college degree preferred Biden by a somewhat narrower margin (58% to 39%). But no significant education gap in candidate preference was observed for Black or Hispanic voters in 2018 or 2022, nor for Black voters in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The upshot of racial differences in candidate preference and turnout patterns is that Republican candidates benefited from both the relatively large size of the White adult population without a college degree and their somewhat higher turnout rates compared with Black, Hispanic and Asian adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Growth in support for Democratic candidates among White voters with a college degree, along with the high turnout levels among this group, offset some of the growth in support for the Republican Party among White voters without a college degree. But college-educated White adults remain a smaller share of all eligible voters than White adults without a college degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;voters-and-nonvoters&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"voters-and-nonvoters\">Voters and nonvoters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57960\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-05-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e8e4d9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e8e4d9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-05.png?resize=480,865 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-05.png?resize=782,1409 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-05.png?resize=840,1514 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"757\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-05.png?w=420\" alt=\"Chart shows wide disparities by age, race and education in who is a voter, nonvoter\" class=\"wp-image-57960 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two most recent midterms \u2013 2022 and 2018 \u2013 both featured unusually high turnout compared with nearly every other recent midterm election year. But the differences between those who turned out to vote in 2022 versus 2018 \u2013 and between those who did <em>not<\/em> vote \u2013 accounted for much of the difference in outcomes between the two elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stark demographic differences between voters and nonvoters in 2022 are similar to those seen in previous U.S. elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voters were much older, on average, than nonvoters. Adults under 50 made up 36% of voters, but 64% of nonvoters. This is very similar to the pattern seen in 2018 \u2013 although those under 50 made up a somewhat larger share of voters in 2018 (40%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turnout also differed by race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three-quarters of voters (75%) were White, non-Hispanic adults. But this group accounted for a smaller share (55%) of nonvoters. Hispanic adults and Black, non-Hispanic adults each made up 9% of voters, but slightly larger shares of nonvoters (18% and 15%, respectively). Asian Americans made up 3% of voters, and a slightly higher share (5%) of nonvoters. These differences are nearly identical to the patterns seen in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are also large educational and income differences between voters and nonvoters. Adults with a college degree made up 43% of voters in 2022, but only 25% of nonvoters. Those without a college degree made up 56% of voters, but 74% of nonvoters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;voting-methods-in-the-2022-election&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"voting-methods-in-the-2022-election\">Voting methods in the 2022 election<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57964\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-06-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ede8db\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ede8db;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-06.png?resize=480,602 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-06.png?resize=782,981 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-06.png?resize=840,1054 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"527\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-06.png?w=420\" alt=\"Chart shows smaller shares voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in 2022 than in 2020\" class=\"wp-image-57964 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As concerns over <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/topic\/coronavirus-disease-covid-19\/\">the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> declined, fewer voters reported having voted absentee or by mail in 2022 than in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2022, 43% of voters said they cast their ballot in person on Election Day. A somewhat smaller share (36%) said they cast an absentee or mail-in ballot, and 21% said they voted in person <em>before<\/em> Election Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 2020 election, held during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, 45% of voters said they cast their ballots by absentee or mail-in ballot, while identical shares (27%) said they voted in person either on Election Day or beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As was the case in 2020, voters who supported Republican candidates were more likely to report having voted in person on Election Day than by other methods. About half (51%) of those who supported Republicans said they voted this way, while smaller shares said they voted by mail or absentee ballot (27%) or voted in person before Election Day (22%). In 2020, 38% said they voted in person on Election Day, while somewhat smaller shares said they voted by mail or absentee (32%) or voted in person before Election Day (30%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-57967\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/pp_2023-07-12_validated-voters_1-07-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9e5e6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9e5e6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-07.png?resize=480,670 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-07.png?resize=620,866 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"433\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_1-07.png?w=310\" alt=\"Chart shows large divides in candidate support by vote method\" class=\"wp-image-57967 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voters who supported Democratic candidates were more likely to say they cast absentee or mail-in ballots (45%). About one-third (34%) said they voted in person on Election Day and two-in-ten said they voted in person before Election Day. In 2020, a 58% majority said they voted by mail or absentee ballot, while just 17% said they voted in person on Election Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reflecting these patterns, Republicans won a majority of votes among those who said they voted in person on Election Day, 60% to 38%. Democrats won \u2013 by an identical margin \u2013 voters who said they voted by mail or absentee ballot. Those who said they voted in person before Election Day were divided: 53% supported Republican candidates, while 46% voted for Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were three of the highest-turnout U.S. elections of their respective types in decades. About two-thirds (66%) of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election \u2013 the highest rate for any national election since 1900. The 2018 election (49% turnout) had the highest rate for a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[92,399,51,91,90,421,430,49,360,50],"tags":[],"bylines":[729,838,967,718],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[520],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-46002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-politics","category-election-2022","category-election-system-voting-process","category-gender-politics-2","category-generations-age-politics","category-political-parties","category-race-ethnicity-politics-2","category-voter-demographics","category-voter-files","category-voter-participation","bylines-andrew-daniller","bylines-hannah-hartig","bylines-scott-keeter","bylines-ted-van-green","formats-report","research-teams-politics"],"label":false,"post_parent":46025,"word_count":1882,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":57965,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Detroit on Election Day 2022. (Matthew Hatcher\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":57965,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Detroit on Election Day 2022. (Matthew Hatcher\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":57965,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Detroit on Election Day 2022. (Matthew Hatcher\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":57965,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Detroit on Election Day 2022. (Matthew Hatcher\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":57965,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Detroit on Election Day 2022. (Matthew Hatcher\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"social":{"id":57965,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_23.04.03_ValidatedVoters_feature-jpg.webp?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Detroit on Election Day 2022. (Matthew Hatcher\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":46025,"title":"Republican Gains in 2022 Midterms Driven Mostly by Turnout Advantage","slug":"republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage\/","is_active":false},{"id":46002,"title":"1. Voter turnout, 2018-2022","slug":"voter-turnout-2018-2022","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/","is_active":true},{"id":46017,"title":"2. Voting patterns in the 2022 elections","slug":"voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections\/","is_active":false},{"id":46010,"title":"3. Demographic profiles of Republican and Democratic voters","slug":"demographic-profiles-of-republican-and-democratic-voters","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/demographic-profiles-of-republican-and-democratic-voters\/","is_active":false},{"id":46031,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"validated-voters-2022-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/validated-voters-2022-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false},{"id":46022,"title":"Methodology","slug":"validated-voters-2022-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/validated-voters-2022-methodology\/","is_active":false}],"report_materials":[{"key":"_brepfxvk8","type":"topline","attachmentId":57963,"url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_TOPLINE.pdf","label":"","icon":""},{"key":"_wdmil2ayt","type":"report","attachmentId":57982,"url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/PP_2023.07.12_validated-voters_REPORT.pdf","label":"","icon":""},{"key":"_g2uu6o69s","type":"link","attachmentId":0,"url":"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1JKd0lNwopBqXpDglgvkrlqWgbTvsNNNSaWVtj-EkLJs\/edit?usp=sharing","label":"2016-2022 Validated Voters Detailed Tables","icon":"detailedTable"}],"report_pagination":{"current_post":{"id":46002,"title":"1. 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Voting patterns in the 2022 elections","slug":"voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},"previous_post":{"id":46025,"title":"Republican Gains in 2022 Midterms Driven Mostly by Turnout Advantage","slug":"republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},"pagination_items":[{"id":46025,"title":"Republican Gains in 2022 Midterms Driven Mostly by Turnout Advantage","slug":"republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},{"id":46002,"title":"1. Voter turnout, 2018-2022","slug":"voter-turnout-2018-2022","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voter-turnout-2018-2022\/","is_active":true,"page_num":2},{"id":46017,"title":"2. Voting patterns in the 2022 elections","slug":"voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2023\/07\/12\/voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},{"id":46010,"title":"3. 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