Voter Turnout Information

U.S. Census Bureau Data

Source for Information Below:  Wikipedia

Voter turnout in presidential elections has been on the decline in recent years, although the 2004 election showed a noticeable increase over the turnout in 1996 and 2000. While voter turnout has been decreasing, voter registration has been increasing. Registration rates varied from 65% to 70% of the voting age population from the 1960s to the 1980s, and due in part to greater government outreach programs, registration swelled to 75% in 1996 and 2000. Despite greater registration, however, turnout in general has not greatly improved.

Election	Voting Age Population ¹	Turnout	% Turnout of VAP
2004	215,694,000	122,295,345	56.69%
2000	205,815,000	105,586,274	51.31%
1996	196,511,000	96,456,345	49.08%
1992	189,529,000	104,405,155	55.09%
1988	182,778,000	91,594,693	50.11%
1984	174,466,000	92,652,680	53.11%
1980	164,597,000	86,515,221	52.56%
1976	152,309,190	81,555,789	53.55%
1972	140,776,000	77,718,554	55.21%
1968	120,328,186	73,199,998	60.83%
1964	114,090,000	70,644,592	60.92%
1960	109,159,000	68,838,204	63.06%

¹ The voting age population includes all persons age 18 and over as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, which necessarily includes a significant number of persons ineligible to vote, such as non-citizens, felons, and the mentally incompetent. The actual number of eligible voters is somewhat lower, and the number of registered voters is lower still. The number of non-citizens in 1994 was approximately 13 million, and in 1996, felons numbered around 1.3 million, so it can be estimated that around 7-10% of the voting age population is ineligible to vote.

Note that the large drop in percentage turnout between 1968 and 1972 can be attributed (at least in part) to the expansion of the franchise to 18 year olds (previously restricted to those 21 and older). The total number of voters grew, but so did the pool of eligible voters, so total percentage fell.