The final tabulations from the 2024 election are in, and while voter turnout was high, most states did not break a record.
Idaho, Washington and Montana all surpassed 75% voter turnout, short of the records notched in 2020.
The data on voter turnout can help dispel myths about the voting policies in each state. For example, Washington state switched to a complete vote by mail system in 2012. Policymakers even added postage to ballots in 2019. Yet there is little evidence showing it has increased voter turnout. In fact, Washington's voter turnout in off-year elections now hovers in the high 30's.
Idaho and Montana, which still vote in person, often come close to matching Washington's turnout numbers, even though both states are more rural and it takes more effort to vote.
Idaho | Washington | Montana | |
2024 | 77.8% | 78.9% | 76.5% |
2022 | 57.2% | 63.8% | 61.3% |
2020 | 81.1% | 84.1% | 81.3% |
2018 | 66.7% | 71.8% | 71.5% |
2016 | 75.8% | 78.7% | 74.4% |
2014 | 56.1% | 54.0% | 55.4% |
2012 | 74.2% | 81.2% | 72.1% |
2010 | 56.8% | 71.2% | 56.3% |
As the National Conference of State Legislatures points out, only eight states conduct their elections entirely by mail. They include California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington
Proponents of voting entirely by mail have repeatedly said it would increase voter turnout and allow for easier access to democracy.
In the 2020 general election, vote by mail was used extensively due to the COVID pandemic. But research from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research shows vote by mail had little effect on turnout.
“Most people who voted by mail most likely would have voted in person had voting by mail not been an option. In fact, turnout rose by a similar amount in states that didn’t even allow no-excuse absentee voting — the most common form of mail-in balloting and the one the researchers study — in 2020.”
If a state is going to transition to vote by mail it should follow the example of Colorado and not Washington. Colorado requires mail ballots to be received by 7 p.m. on election day. Washington is just postmarked by election day. The latter turns election day into election month and adds to voter frustration as election results swing wildly days after the election as more ballots trickle in.
Vote by mail may be a good option for some voters, but the research shows little evidence it increases voter turnout. Policymakers supporting vote by mail should be honest about both the positives and negatives.