Voter Turnout Called Lowest Since ’24

Voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was the lowest since 1924, according to unofficial tallies Wednesday.

“We had an unprecedented number of voters who said they didn’t like either candidate,” said Curtis Gans, director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, a nonpartisan research group. Not voting, he said, “became a rational act.”

By the time the counting ended for the day Wednesday, the unofficial total presidential vote was 88.96 million, with 487 of 184,660 precincts yet to report final figures. The Census Bureau estimated there were 182.6 million Americans of voting age, which would mean a turnout of 48.7%.

“I think the final voter turnout will end up right about at 50%,” when uncounted and absentee ballots are included, Gans said. “That would be lowest turnout since 1924” when between 48% and 49% of the eligible voters went to the polls.

Gans said the turnout declined in every state except Nevada and New Hampshire.