How did the 2020 election compare to previous presidential elections in terms of voter turnout?

1. A numerical jump: how big was the increase versus 2016 and earlier cycles?

Administrative and survey-based sources agree that turnout rose by roughly seven percentage points relative to 2016 and added about 17 million voters in absolute terms, producing roughly 66.8% turnout in the Census and Pew estimates and approximately 158.4 million ballots cast in official tallies ^{[2] [5] [3]}. The Census Bureau called 2020 the largest increase in voters between two presidential elections on record and noted it was the highest turnout of the 21st century ^{[3] [2]}.

2. Historical context: highest in a century, but dependent on metric

Multiple outlets report 2020 as the highest turnout as a percent of the voting-eligible population since the early 1900s—Pew and other compilations cite the highest rate for a national election since 1900—yet historians and turnout experts stress that different denominators (voting-age population vs. voting-eligible population vs. registered voters) shift rankings, so the “highest in 120 years” framing depends on which measure is used ^{[1] [6] [5]}.

3. Who changed their behavior: demographic and partisan shifts

Census and Pew analyses found turnout rose across racial groups and age cohorts, with record participation among Asian, Hispanic and Black voters in absolute terms and notable increases among young and non-college white voters; Pew and Brookings note that many 2020 voters had not participated in 2016—about one-in-four 2020 voters were nonvoters in 2016—contributing to the surge ^{[2] [7] [8]}. Brookings and the Census emphasize that turnout increases occurred among both Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning groups, complicating simple partisan narratives about who benefited from the spike ^[8].

4. Mechanisms that helped produce higher turnout: pandemic rules and mobilization

Observers point to a mix of drivers: a highly polarized campaign atmosphere, expanded use of mail and early voting because of COVID-19, and vigorous turnout operations; the Census highlighted record use of nontraditional voting methods in 2020, with a majority of voters casting ballots early or by mail for the first time in CPS records ^{[9] [3]}. Pew and other analysts also put emphasis on the emotional stakes of a bitter race as a mobilizing force, though definitive attribution between logistical change and political motivation remains an area of active study ^{[4] [5]}.

5. Gaps and limits: racial and comparative shortcomings

Despite aggregate gains, analysts warned that longstanding gaps persisted: the white–nonwhite turnout gap remained substantial and in some comparisons widened, and turnout in the U.S., even at 2020 levels, still trails many peer democracies when measured as votes per voting-age population ^{[10] [4]}. Additionally, researchers caution that measurement choices, survey weighting, and differences between administrative totals and CPS estimates produce small but meaningful differences in headline percentages—so “record turnout” is solid as a broad claim but nuanced in its details ^{[6] [5]}.

6. Takeaway: unprecedented scale, familiar inequalities

In sum, 2020 was unprecedented in modern terms: a massive, cross-cutting turnout surge that produced the largest increase in votes between presidential cycles and one of the highest turnout percentages in more than a century, driven by pandemic-era voting changes and intense mobilization ^{[3] [1]}; yet the election also reinforced persistent demographic turnout gaps and leaves open questions about how much of the spike reflected temporary pandemic conditions versus durable shifts in participation ^{[10] [9]}.