Census Bureau Releases 2022 Congressional Election Voting Report

APRIL 23, 2024 - The voter registration rate (69.1%) for the 2022 congressional election was the highest registration rate of a midterm election in 30 years. However, the voter turnout rate (52.2%) was lower than in the 2018 (53.4%) midterm elections, according to the new Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022 report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report, based on data from the 2022 Current Population Survey (CPS) Voting and Registration Supplement, builds on detailed tables released earlier this year.

The report highlights patterns in voter turnout over time among the citizen voting-age population (CVAP) and explores how demographic groups were over- and under-represented among voters in the 2022 congressional elections compared to the CVAP as a whole.

Highlights:

• Non-Hispanic White population those with a bachelor's degree or higher education, and those 65 years or older were each overrepresented among voters in 2022. (Non-Hispanic White and 65 years or older voter overrepresentations were not statistically different.)
• The 65 years or older group was overrepresented among voters by 6.7 percentage points, comprising 30.4% of all voters and 23.8% of the CVAP, while voters ages 18 to 29 were underrepresented by 7.9 percentage points, comprising 11.7% of all voters and 19.6% of the CVAP.

The report further examines these differences at the state level. In Wisconsin, where 21.2% of the CVAP were between 18 and 29 years old, voters in this age group were not statistically underrepresented. This is in contrast with Texas, where 21.4% of the CVAP were 18 to 29 years old but this age group was underrepresented by 10.2 percentage points (Wisconsin and Texas 18- to 29-year-old CVAP shares were not statistically different.) When looking at the CVAP by race, non-Hispanic Black voters were underrepresented by 1.6 percentage points nationally, a greater underrepresentation for this group than in the previous three congressional elections (non-Hispanic Black voters were not statistically underrepresented in 2010.) This underrepresentation varied at the state level, however.

The rate of early voting or voting by mail was 49.8% in 2022, 10.0 percentage points more than in 2018. The share of voters who used one or both these methods to vote increased across all age groups, race and Hispanic origin, and education level between these two elections.

Other highlights from the report include:

• Registered voters who did not vote in the midterm election (37.2 million people) were most likely to cite being too busy or having a conflicting schedule as their reason for not voting (9.9 million).
• Those in the CVAP who were not registered to vote (32.5 million people) were most likely to cite a disinterest in the election (13.3 million) as their reason for not being registered to vote.

The Census Bureau has collected voting and registration data since 1964 and has fielded the Voting and Registration Supplement to the CPS every two years. This survey is the most comprehensive data source available on the social and demographic composition of the electorate in federal elections. Examining these characteristics and how they have changed over the years provides a better understanding of the social and demographic characteristics of American voters. More information on methodology, confidentiality protection, sampling and nonsampling error, and definitions is available at https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsnov22.pdf.

The estimates presented in this report may differ from those based on administrative data or exit polls due to factors such as survey nonresponse, vote misreporting, methodological issues related to question wording, and survey administration.

For detailed tables and data from previous presidential election years, visit the Voting and Registration webpage.

No news release associated with this product. Tip sheet only.

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