How many eligible voters were there for the 2024 election
Executive summary
The best reading of the available reporting is that roughly 242–244 million Americans were eligible to vote in the 2024 general election — a figure derived from the large, publicly reported vote totals (about 156.3 million ballots cast) and multiple organizations’ reconciliations of ballots cast plus non-voters (which produce totals near 244 million) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Differences in headline numbers trace to disputed definitions (voting‑eligible population vs. voting‑age population vs. registered voters) and to the data source used.
1. The simple arithmetic behind the headline
A near-universal anchor in the reporting is the raw ballots-counted figure: more than 155 million Americans voted in 2024, with the Council on Foreign Relations citing an exact total of 156,302,318 ballots cast [1]. When reputable groups subtract ballots cast from estimates of eligible non-voters they arrive at an electorate in the low‑to‑mid 240‑million range — Population Education’s accounting (155M+ ≈89M non‑voters) points toward roughly 244 million eligible voters [2], and the Environmental Voter Project’s presentation of 85.9 million eligible non‑voters alongside the known vote total produces a similar total [3]. Those independent reconciliations converge on an estimate around 242–244 million.
2. Why one source says “244 million” and another shows different totals
Some outlets state the 2024 eligible‑voter total explicitly — the Bipartisan Policy Center lists roughly 244 million eligible Americans in 2024 [4] — while other trackers and encyclopedias use different denominators: WorldPopulationReview recounts a 231‑million‑plus eligible figure that appears anchored to earlier cycles [5], and many organizations emphasize registered voters rather than eligibility, reporting about 170 million registered in 2024 in some summaries [6]. These divergences reflect the three common measures: voting‑eligible population (VEP), voting‑age population (VAP), and registered voters; conflating them will produce inconsistent headline numbers [5] [6].
3. Turnout percentages are useful but slippery
Turnout as a percentage depends on the denominator selected. Ballotpedia reports an overall turnout of 63.7% of eligible voters in the 2024 general election [7], while the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey shows 73.6% of the voting‑age population were registered and reports that 65.3% of the voting‑age population voted in 2024 [8]. USAFacts also cites the Census Bureau figure of 65.3% voting [9]. Those percentages all describe real phenomena, but they use different bases — eligible voters, voting‑age population, or registered voters — which explains why turnout figures and eligible‑voter counts can appear contradictory if not carefully matched to a single definition [7] [8] [9].
4. Data limitations, political uses and implicit agendas
Official compilations lag and academic groups use different estimation methods; for example the University of Florida Election Lab is cited in commentary about VEP growth and in analyses that question vote changes between 2020 and 2024, illustrating how methodological choices shape narratives [10]. Advocacy groups and think tanks sometimes deploy the eligible‑voter total to make political points — Environmental Voter Project emphasizes the size of the non‑voting bloc to argue for mobilization [3], while some partisan commentary treats small discrepancies as evidence of fraud or malpractice [10]. Readers should therefore note whether a number is VEP, VAP, or registered‑voter based and who compiled it before drawing conclusions.
5. Bottom line for the question asked
Aggregating the most consistent public figures — the confirmed ballots cast (~156.3 million) and multiple post‑election reconciliations of ballots plus non‑voters — yields an estimate of roughly 242–244 million Americans eligible to vote in 2024; that is the defensible, evidence‑backed answer in the current reporting while acknowledging differing definitions and methodological choices across sources [1] [2] [3] [4].