Indiana voter turnout in 2024: A return to normalcy
The 2024 election saw 61.5% of registered voters casting a ballot in Indiana, with 10 counties recording voter turnout rates above 70%.
In the leadup to the 2024 election, pundits from both sides of the aisle urged Americans to get out and vote, calling it “the most important election of our lifetime.” While that claim is debatable, the 2024 election was certainly one of the most expensive in history, with nearly $16 billion spent on presidential and congressional races.1 In Indiana, 2024 was also a gubernatorial election year with incumbent Governor Eric Holcomb ineligible for reelection.
Increased spending and focus on an election often translate to higher voter turnout, but did this hold true in Indiana in 2024?
In short, the answer is not really.
As it turns out, the 2020 presidential election was truly historic for Indiana, with the state registering its highest voter turnout rate since the 1992 election (see Table 1). In 2024, 2,976,581 Hoosiers cast a ballot, equating to a voter turnout rate of 61.5%. This turnout ranks fifth in the list of presidential elections since 1992.
Table 1: Indiana voter turnout in presidential elections since 1992
| Year | Voter turnout |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 73.8% |
| 2020 | 64.6% |
| 1996 | 62.9% |
| 2008 | 62.2% |
| 2024 | 61.5% |
| 2004 | 58.5% |
| 2012 | 58.5% |
| 2016 | 58.1% |
Note: Voter turnout data was not available for 2000. The list is sorted by voter turnout percentage, which is calculated as the percentage of registered voters that voted.
Source: IN.gov Indiana Election Division, Voter registration and turnout statistics
While the Census Bureau releases voter turnout numbers for all 50 states, it calculates voter turnout as the percentage of the citizen population age 18 and over that voted, not the percentage of registered voters that voted. When looking at election turnout through that lens, Indiana does not fare well. In fact, it ranked 40th of the 50 states in 2024, with 60.7% of the citizen population casting a ballot (see Figure 1). Excluding the District of Columbia (which saw a staggering 79.5% of its citizen population cast a ballot in 2024), the top five states in citizens voting were Minnesota (75.9%), Oregon (75.3%), Virginia (72.9%), New Jersey (72.5%) and Michigan (72.3%). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the five states with the lowest percentage of citizens voting in 2024 were Arkansas (52.8%), Texas (57.9%), Louisiana (58%), Hawaii (58.5%) and Alabama (58.7%).
Figure 1: Voter turnout rates by state for the 2024 election
Note: Voter turnout percentages are calculated as the percent of citizens age 18 and older that voted in that state.
Source: IBRC, using U.S. Census Bureau voting data
Turning to the county-level data (which is calculated as the percent of registered voters that voted), 10 Indiana counties recorded voter turnout above 70% in 2024 (see Figure 2). Wells County led the way in voter turnout with 73% of registered voters casting a ballot, followed by Whitley (72.8%), Jackson (72.2%), Huntington (71.8%) and Posey (71.6%) counties. Impressively, Hamilton County, the state’s fourth-most-populous county, recorded voter turnout of 70.5%.
Figure 2: Indiana county voter turnout rates for the 2024 election
Note: Voter turnout percentages are calculated as the percent of registered voters that voted.
Source: IN.gov Indiana Election Division, Voter registration and turnout statistics
Voter turnout is often lower in more populous counties and that was the case for the state’s other high-population counties. The county with the lowest voter turnout in 2024, St. Joseph County with 54.5% of registered voters casting a ballot, is also the fifth-most-populous county in the state. Marion County, the state’s most populous county, followed St. Joseph with voter turnout of 55%. Other population hubs, Lake (57.2%), Allen (57.9%), Elkhart (55.9%) and Tippecanoe (57.2%) counties, also ranked in the bottom 10 counties in voter turnout.
When compared to the momentous election in 2020, 78 of Indiana’s 92 counties registered a lower turnout rate in 2024 (see Figure 3). Topping the list of 14 counties with higher voter turnout in 2024 is Jackson County, recording a voter turnout rate that was 4.4 percentage points higher than 2020. Jackson County was followed by Madison (+3.9 percentage points), Parke (+3.5), Delaware (+3.2) and Union (+3.1) counties. Voter turnout decreased by more than five percentage points in 11 counties, extending to down 7.3 percentage points in Hendricks County in 2024. The vast majority of Indiana counties recorded voter turnout that decreased between 0.1 and 5 percentage points in the 2024 election (as compared to the 2020 election).Figure 3: Change in Indiana county voter turnout from 2020 to 2024
Note: This map is showing the change in percentage points between 2020 and 2024.
Source: IN.gov Indiana Election Division, Voter registration and turnout statistics
While Indiana voter turnout largely decreased in 2024, voter outreach groups at the county level should utilize this data to inform their engagement strategies in the coming years. For these advocacy groups, the past is prologue when working to register new voters, mobilize registered voters and increase civic participation and turnout rates in future elections.
For more Indiana voter registration and turnout data, visit the Indiana Secretary of State Office’s Election Division site.
Notes
- The 2020 election was the most expensive election in history with more than $18 billion spent on presidential and congressional races in the U.S. For more information on the cost of recent U.S. elections, check out this visualization from OpenSecrets: https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/cost-of-election?cycle=2020&display=T&infl=Y.