How many voters have a party affiliation?

Of registered voters, 47% have declared a party affiliation. As of September 2024, 36 million voters are registered Republicans and 45.1 million are registered Democrats.

Published Mon, September 30, 2024 by the USAFacts Team

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As of September 2024, 186.5 million Americans nationwide are registered to vote based on available voter registration data. That’s nearly six in every ten Americans, and almost eight in ten Americans 18 and older.

Of those, 47%^[1] of registered voters have declared a party affiliation on their registration. How many voters are registered with each political party?

How many registered voters are in each state?

Among states reporting 2024 voter registration data, California has the most registered voters, 22.1 million, followed by Texas (17.9 million) and Florida (13.7 million). These states also rank highest in overall populations.

The states with the fewest number of voters are Wyoming (232,222), Vermont (502,378), and Alaska (607,603). For comparison, Washington, DC, has 435,887 registered voters.

Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio haven’t publicly released 2024 voter registration data and are therefore missing from these estimates.

Illinois is the only state that puts voter registration behind a paywall.

North Dakota does not require voter registration, and therefore doesn’t report registration statistics. The state estimated it had 564,935 eligible voters for the 2022 election.

Which states have the highest voter registration rates?

2022 Census Bureau data shows that voter registration was highest in Oregon at 82.7%. Washington, DC, was the only other locale to have a registration rate higher than 80% at 82.4%. North Carolina’s rate of 60.8% was the nation’s lowest.

Twenty-four states had registration rates between 70.0%–79.9%; including North Carolina, 25 states had rates between 60.0%–69.9%.

How many voters are registered Republicans?

As of September 2024, 36 million voters are registered Republicans. However, this count is only from states where political party affiliation is part of voter registration records.^[2] This rate may also change since some states release updated voter registration numbers monthly.

By state, Wyoming has the highest percentage of voters registered as Republicans (81%). The highest numbers of registered Republicans are in California (5.48 million, or 15% of the nation’s Republicans) and Florida (5.38 million, also about 15%).

How many voters are registered Democrats?

Based on 2024 data, the nation has around 45.1 million Democrats. Twenty-three percent are in California (10.2 million), and 14% are in New York (6.4 million).

Washington, DC, has the highest percentage of registered Democrats (76.2%). Maryland has the next highest at 52.5%.

How many voters are registered independents?

There are 32.1 million voters registered as independents, undeclared, or no affiliation. Of states where voters can declare a party affiliation, the highest independent voter percentages are Massachusetts (64%), Alaska (62%), and Colorado (49%). Independent voters account for just over 17% of all registered voters who declare affiliations.

How many voters are registered in minor parties?

Although most voters are registered as Republicans, Democrats, or independents, there are other political party options. The Green Party is a common minor party^[3], as is the Libertarian Party.

States are not limited to establishment political parties and can found their own – Delaware has the popular culture-inspired Mandalorian Party.

About 5.4 million people, or 2.9% of voters, are registered under minor parties.

What does the data miss?

Because some states release voter statistics daily, monthly, quarterly, or less frequently than that, 2024 data is up to date as of the time of publication.

Inactive voters are typically ineligible to vote. When possible, voter counts are “active” voters^[4], a designation that changes from state to state. In Utah, for example, a voter becomes inactive when they “have not updated their address or who had mail returned as undeliverable.” In Michigan, a voter becomes inactive when they move from their voting jurisdiction, they die, they are identified as a duplicate, or the voter requests to cancel their registration.

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Sources & Footnotes

Census Bureau

Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022

Last updated

April 2023

[1]

This percentage includes states where voters are not given the option to indicate their party affiliation.

[2]

Party affiliation declaration is required in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Washington, DC.

Party affiliation declaration is not required in 18 states, and is therefore not counted in: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

[3]

The term "minor party" means a political party whose presidential candidate in the preceding presidential election received five percent or more, but less than 25 percent, of the total number of popular votes received by all candidates for such office.

[4]

The following states report active voter counts as part of their voter registration statistics: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.