US Election defined: How many eligible voters within the US, what is the turnout?

Turnout is expected to be record-breaking in the 2024 election – with the result between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump closer and more difficult to predict than any race in history.

Americans are rightly proud of their democracy. It may be brash, loud and rough and tumble – but at the end of the day they have high turnout and high engagement in the process, with tens of thousands turning out to rallies for both candidates across the country.

But when we say America’s numbers are big, just how big are we talking?

And how many of those voters will already have cast their ballot before election day? Here’s how the numbers break down.

How many eligible voters are in the US?

As of 2022, out of a voting eligible population of around 240 million, there were 161.42 million registered voters in the United States – that’s around 3.5 times the number of registered voters in the UK.

When registering to vote, most US voters also register with one of the main political parties, so they can take in primary elections to decide on the party leader.

Some register as independent, or unafilliated – and, of course, those are the voters the candidates want to reach the most.

What is the turnout in the US election?

Most people expect record turnout in the 2024 election.

The 2020 election saw people vote in the highest numbers since 1900 – with both Joe Biden and Donald Trump securing more votes than any other candidates in history.

Some 158 million people voted in the 2020 poll – either in person or by mail. That’s around 62.8% of the voting age population, the highest proportion since at least the 1930s.

This time around, people are expecting the number to be even higher.

How many people vote early or by mail?

More than 75 million people voted before election day – either through in-person early voting or by mail.

That’s nearly half of the record total amount of votes in 2020.

Around 100 million people voted early in 2020 – with more people deciding to avoid long lines during a pandemic.

Rules on early voting vary from state to state – but some states almost exclusively vote early. Nevada, aways has very high early turnout – and Georgia and North Carolina have both seen around 80% of their 2020 totals voting before election day this time around.