Voter turnout for the 2022 U.S. congressional elections was the second highest for a nonpresidential election year since 2000, with 52.2% of the citizen voting-age population participating. And registration rates were the highest for a midterm election since 2000, with 69.1% of the citizen voting-age population registered to vote, up 2.2 percentage points from 66.9% in 2018, according to Current Population Survey (CPS) data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
For the 2022 election, the survey found that nearly one-third (31.8%) of all voters cast ballots by mail, up from 23.1% in 2018. Almost half (47.1%) voted before Election Day, up from 37.8% in 2018.
Other highlights:
- Among those who were registered but did not vote in the 2022 elections, the most common answer given for not voting was, “Too busy, conflicting work or school schedule.”
- The most common way people registered to vote was at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV); 29.8% of respondents reported registering at their DMV.
- Among the citizen voting-age population, homeowners had higher voter turnout than renters, with 58.1% of eligible homeowners and 36.5% of renters voting.
- Turnout rates for the citizen voting-age population differed by length of residence, 67.6% for those living in the same place for five years or longer and 40.5% for those in their current residence for one year or less.
- Turnout was higher among the married (61.2%) than unmarried (42.5%) citizen voting-age population.
- Turnout was higher among veterans (62.7%) than among nonveterans (51.3%).
- Native-born citizen voter turnout was 53.4%, greater than the 41.4% turnout of naturalized citizens.
- The South had the nation’s lowest voter turnout (48.9%), while turnout in the West (54.7%), Midwest (54.1%) and Northeast (53.8%) were not significantly different from each other.
More information about voter turnout for the election is available in the America Counts story, High Registration and Early Voting in 2022 Midterms.
The Census Bureau has collected voting and registration data biennially in the November CPS since 1964. The statistics presented are based on responses to survey inquiries about whether individuals were registered and/or voted in specific national elections. The Census Bureau recently released the Questions on the Voting Supplement of the Current Population Survey data visualization which highlights question changes in the voting supplement over time. More information about the voting and registration supplement is available on the Census Bureau’s Voting and Registration webpage. More information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error and definitions is available at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/complete.2022.html>.
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