Title: How Many Americans Are Registered To Vote? It's A Record, But We Can Do Better
Headings: How Many Americans Are Registered To Vote?
How Many Americans Are Registered To Vote?
Content: Census data from 2008 shows that there were 206 million citizens of voting age during that election. AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Given the larger population of voting-eligible and registered voters, we shouldn't be surprised if a record number of people in the United States vote in this election. But that does not necessarily mean that the turnout rate will be record-setting — that would depend on the percentage of the eligible population that actually casts their ballots. If we make an estimate based on past data on primary turnout compared with general election turnout, we might suspect that the 2016 election will have a rate close to 2008, when more than 60 percent of the eligible population voted in November — the rate hasn't been that high since 1968. That year, 30.4 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in primaries — an unusually high number. This year, 28.5 percent did so. Then again, considering the fact that only 14 percent of eligible voters chose either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the primaries, according to the New York Times analysis, perhaps our expectations should be tempered. Heading into November, some 20 million eligible adults aren't registered to vote. There's still time to change that for residents of many states; check here for voter registration deadlines for all states.