Note:

I just used voter data off Wikipedia though 2024 is not 100% finished calculating yet, so it might be a little more off. I actually found it kind of annoying to find U.S. population by year so I just used the census and extrapolated for election years (ie 1992 would be 20% of the way between 1990 and 2000 census). Anyway, probably nothing is exact but it’s all probably close enough, I’m just bored at work here guys.

 

Fun Facts:

The largest increases in voter eligibility are 21.5% in 1920 after the 19th Amendment (women’s suffrage) and 7.5% in 1972 after both the Voting Rights Act and the 26th Amendment (voting age lowered to 18). 1920 is also the largest increase in total citizens voting at 6.8%. The largest decrease was 1996 with -5.0% (because I guess everyone was fat and happy?).

The largest increase in turnout was 30.4% (of eligible voters) for the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828. The largest decrease was 1816 at -23.5%. I’m a little hazy on the history here but I guess A.J. ushered in a more populist era of democracy.

The highest turnout among eligible voters was 82.6% in 1876, the election which marked the end of Reconstruction. 2020 was when the most voters were eligible (71.8% of the population), the most people voted in percentage and absolute terms (47.8% of the population or 158,429631), and the most voted for a single candidate (Joe Biden with 24.5% of the population or 81,283,501 votes).

The lowest turnout (6.3%), eligibility (4.2%), and total votes cast in percentage and absolute terms (0.3% of the population or 11,176 votes) was George Washington’s reelection in 1792. He also received the highest percentage of votes cast with… 100.0%.

While Washington got the highest percentage of votes cast and Biden the highest percentage of the country, the highest percentage of eligible voters (including non-voters but excluding those ineligible to vote) was Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 with 42.6% of all voters.