Idaho voters turned out to the polls at record numbers for the November 2024 general election, initial voter turnout data show.
A record 914,302 Idahoans voted in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial voter turnout data from the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, from 3:59 p.m. Wednesday. Idaho had 1,069,763 registered voters this year.
Meanwhile, Idaho reported an 85.5% voter turnout rate this year. By Wednesday morning, it was unclear if that breaks the voter turnout rate record, since ballots were still being counted and election officials were working to verify same-day voter registration figures, Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview.
But McGrane said breaking the voter turnout rate was unlikely. Idaho election officials had expected the state this year to break the record for the number of ballots cast, he said.
But Idaho’s voter turnout rate appeared on par with this century’s past presidential elections, where voters tend to participate at higher rates.
Since 2000, Idaho’s average voter turnout rate for presidential elections was 76%, the Idaho Capital Sun found in a review of past election results reported by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office. That figure doesn’t factor in the 2024 turnout rate.
And as a higher share of Idaho voters voted early in-person, rather than mail-in absentee, election officials are in talks about expanding early voting options, McGrane said.
The presidential race has historically been a key factor in boosting turnout, but other factors may have played a role, like Idaho’s ballot measures up for votes this year and get-out-the-vote activities by candidates, Boise State University political scientist Jaclyn Kettler told the Sun in an interview Wednesday.
In 2024, 67,1% of Idaho voters supported former president Donald Trump, who secured a second term as U.S. president. In 2016, Trump received 59% of Idaho’s votes. In 2020, Trump received 64% of Idaho’s votes.
