What percentage of eligible voters did not vote in 2024?
Executive summary
About one-third of eligible Americans did not cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election, but the exact percentage depends on which turnout measure is used: turnout of the voting-eligible population (VEP) implies roughly 36% did not vote, the Census Bureau’s voting figures imply about 35% did not vote, and a survey of registered voters finds a higher non‑voter share of 41% [1] [2] [3].
1. Defining the question: “eligible” can mean different things
Precise answers hinge on the denominator: analysts report turnout as a share of the voting-eligible population (VEP), of voting-age citizens, or of registered voters — each produces a different non-voter percentage [4] [5].
2. The VEP headline: roughly 36% of eligible voters did not vote
Ballotpedia’s synthesis of certified state totals and VEP calculations reports overall VEP turnout at 63.7% for 2024, which implies about 36.3% of the voting-eligible population did not vote — the figure that many journalists adopt when they say “about one-third” sat out the election [1].
3. The Census Bureau view: about 34.7% did not vote (based on 65.3% turnout)
The Census Current Population Survey (CPS) Voting and Registration supplement shows 65.3% of the voting-age population voted in 2024; using that as the base implies roughly 34.7% did not vote — a slightly lower non‑voter share than the VEP-based estimate because of methodological differences in how eligibility is counted [2] [6].
4. Registered‑voter perspective: 41% of registered voters reported sitting out
Surveys of registered voters offer a different angle: PRRI’s post‑election survey found that 59% of registered voters reported voting and 41% reported not voting in the presidential race, reflecting the reality that many eligible Americans are not registered and that nonparticipation is concentrated among the unregistered as well as the registered non‑voters [3].
5. How these numbers translate into people: roughly 89–90 million non‑voters
Multiple outlets visualize the scale: an estimate frequently cited puts non‑voters at more than 89 million Americans in 2024, a number consistent with the mid‑30s percentage range when applied to the voting‑eligible population [7] [8].
6. Why the range matters: policy and political implications
The choice of denominator matters for interpretation: VEP-based non‑voters (≈36%) are often used to compare elections across time because VEP adjusts for noncitizens and legally disenfranchised groups, while Census CPS figures (65.3% turnout) are used for demographic breakdowns; registered‑voter nonparticipation (41%) is most relevant for outreach and mobilization strategies [4] [2] [3].
7. What the research says about who stayed home and why
Analysts found turnout fell from the 2020 high and that nonvoting was uneven across groups — for example, Hispanic turnout declined relative to 2020 and young people remained the least likely to vote — trends that help explain why different turnout measures and surveys produce slightly different non‑voter percentages [9] [10].
8. Bottom line and best single‑number answer
If a single, readily cited percentage is required for “eligible voters who did not vote in 2024,” the most common and methodologically defensible headline is approximately 36% — derived from the 63.7% VEP turnout reported by election analysts [1]. Alternate, defensible figures include about 34.7% non‑voting using the Census Bureau’s 65.3% turnout [2] and 41% non‑voting among registered voters according to PRRI’s survey [3].