How does 2020 registered voter count compare to 2016 and 2018?
Executive summary
The U.S. had a substantially larger registered-voter pool in 2020 than in recent elections: Census and peer analyses put the 2020 registered-voter total in the high‑hundreds of millions range (Census estimates about 168.3 million people saying they were registered in 2020) and turnout surged to roughly 154.6 million ballots cast — up from 137.5 million in 2016 (Census) [1] [2]. Available sources show 2020 both expanded registration and produced the largest increase in votes between consecutive presidential elections on record in the Current Population Survey series [2] [3].
1. Bigger rolls, bigger turnout: what the Census found
The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) reports that more people voted in 2020 (154.6 million) than in 2016 (137.5 million), describing the increase as the largest between presidential elections since the CPS began the voting supplement in 1964 [2]. The CPS and related Census reporting also place the number of people who reported being registered in 2020 in the high‑hundred‑millions — the Pew Research synthesis cites a Census estimate of about 168.3 million registered in 2020 [1].
2. How 2020 compares to 2016 and 2018 in plain numbers
By raw votes, Census‑based totals show 154.6 million votes in 2020 versus 137.5 million in 2016 — a jump of about 17 million ballots [2]. For registration, the Census‑derived estimate of roughly 168.3 million registered in 2020 is substantially larger than typical estimates tied to 2016 and 2018, and the CPS notes registration rates reached about 70% of the voting‑eligible population in 2020 with 61% voting [3] [1].
3. Why the rolls rose: demography, rules and a pandemic
Analysts point to demographic growth in the voting‑eligible population and changes in how and when people registered as drivers of the larger rolls; Pew notes the eligible voter pool grew markedly over prior decades and that non‑White groups contributed strongly to electorate growth [4]. The pandemic shifted election administration — far more mail and early voting in 2020 — which Census reporting documents as a dramatic change in voting mode and likely affected both registration behavior and turnout [2] [3].
4. Methodological caution: no single “authoritative” registration count
The United States lacks a single national registry; states maintain their own lists and reporting conventions, so totals vary by source and method. Pew and the Census both underline this problem: the Census’s 168.3 million registered‑voter figure is an estimate of people who said they were registered in survey responses, and officials’ administrative totals can differ [1] [5]. The Election Lab and other researchers warn that registration and turnout measures are not perfectly comparable across years because states change laws and practices that affect both counts [6].
5. Mixed state stories: registration fell in some places, rose in others
Not all jurisdictions mirrored the national upswing. The Brennan Center’s analysis found registration activity dropped between January and August 2020 relative to the comparable 2016 period in most of the 21 states it examined, attributing declines to pandemic disruptions to registration drives and in‑person processes [7]. That contrasts with national CPS‑based increases and shows local administrative patterns can run counter to national survey trends [7] [2].
6. Youth and minority dynamics amplified the shift
Youth turnout and registration climbed sharply in 2020 compared with 2016: Tufts’ CIRCLE estimates youth (ages 18–29) turnout rose to about 50% in 2020 from 39% in 2016, building on record youth engagement in 2018 [8]. Census tables similarly document increased registration and turnout among several racial and ethnic groups, especially non‑Hispanic Asians and higher turnout for non‑Hispanic Whites in 2020 versus 2016 [3] [4].
7. What journalists and analysts should watch next
Because state administrative counts, survey estimates and voter‑file aggregations use different methodologies, any comparison across years requires specifying the data source: CPS survey estimates (Census) vs. state administrative totals vs. voter‑file reconstructions [5] [6]. Analysts should cite the exact series they use and treat national increases in 2020 as a composite result that masks declines in some states [7] [2].
Limitations and source notes: This analysis draws on Census CPS reports and related summaries [5] [2], Pew Research and other secondary summaries [1] [4], plus state and nonprofit studies that highlight divergent state patterns [7] [8]. Available sources do not provide a single, definitive administrative‑level nationwide registration total for 2016, 2018 and 2020 that is uniformly comparable; researchers rely on CPS estimates, aggregated state reports, and voter‑file reconstructions, each with tradeoffs [1] [6].