In the 2024 election, nearly 60% of voters cast their ballots early or by mail: 29.0% voted by mail, 30.7% voted early, and 39.6% went to the polls on Election Day.
That’s up from about 40% in 2018 and 50% in 2022 but lower than 2020, when 69% voted early or by mail as states expanded early in-person and mail-in options in response to COVID-19.
Election day voting is decreasing; early and in-person voting is increasing.
Percentage of voters by method of voting, for midterm and presidential elections, 2018–2024
The Census Bureau began tracking voting methods in 2018, and while the number of people voting early and by mail has grown overall, the trends differ by method.
Early in-person voting increased for each midterm and presidential election since 2018. The biggest increase was between 2022 and 2024, when the rate of early in-person voting went up 12.7 percentage points, from 18.0% to 30.7%.
Mail-in voting rates vary a bit more. Aside from the 2020 peak of 43.0%, the next-highest rate was 31.8% in 2022. In 2024, 29.0%, slightly lower, but still above pre-pandemic levels.
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Where do people vote by mail or early the most?
Voting by mail was common in the Western US before the pandemic. In 2018, 65.2% of voters mailed in their ballots (data is only available regionally through the Census Bureau, not by state). That rose to 79.1% in 2020 before ticking down to 77.9% in 2022 and 73.5% in 2024.
In other regions, it increased in popularity since COVID-19 but remains less prevalent: 18.0% of Midwest voters, 21.3% of Northeast voters, and 11.4% of voters in the South cast mail-in ballots in 2024.
Mail-in voting is most common in the Western US.
Percentage of all votes cast by mail, 2024 election
The South leads all regions in early voting, with just over half of voters (50.5%) casting their ballots before Election Day in 2024. The Midwest was next at 28.8%.
Early voting is most common in the Southern US.
Percentage of all votes cast in person before Election Day, 2024 election
After the swell of remote voting in 2020, most Northeasterners returned to voting in person: either on Election Day (58.8%) or before Election Day (19.3%) in 2024.
Who votes early and by mail the most?
Mail-in and early voting rates in 2024 varied across age, race, and nativity:
- Voters 65 and older voted by mail at the highest rate (36.8%). The next oldest group, people aged 45 to 64, had the highest rate of early in-person voting (32.8%).
- Asian voters cast the highest rate of mail-in ballots, while Black voters had the highest early voting rate.
- Naturalized citizens voted by mail at a rate nearly 8 percentage points higher than native-born citizens.
Explore voting method data by demographic.
Percentage of all voters by method of voting, 2024 election
For more information on how Americans vote, read about swing states and non-swing states. Get the data directly in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
