Americans of Voting Age to Hit 193 Million
This fall’s elections will see 7.8 million more U.S. residents of voting age than in the last midterm contests in 1990.
The Census Bureau estimates that 193,650,000 U.S. residents will be 18 or older this November, 4.1 million more than in 1992 and 7.8 million more than in 1990.
Not everyone who is old enough to vote does so. Some are not eligible because they are not U.S. citizens or are convicted felons.
In 1990, 33.1% of those who were eligible voted. And in 1992, when a presidential contest heightened public interest, turnout was 50.8%.
While the number of Americans old enough to cast ballots is growing, the typical voter is changing.
The declining birth rates of the late 1960s and 1970s mean that fewer people are turning 18 than when the large baby boom groups were reaching voting age. That means older people will make up an ever larger share of the voting-age population.
Women will comprise 52% of the voting-age population. They will outnumber men in every state except Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada.
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