As a followup to the reactions and comments to our recent post on women and voting, we offer the following reports from:
The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). 2026. “Gender Differences in Voter Registration and Turnout.” New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/data/voters/gender-differences-voter-registration-and-turnout (Accessed April 6, 2026).
Proportion of Eligible Adult Population Who Reported Voting
2020 men 65% = 72.5 million
Women 68.4% = 82.2 million
2024 men 63.7 % = 72.8 million
Women 66.9% = 81.5 million
Methodology
Data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Current Population Reports, Series P-20, "Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1964" and subsequent reports for all years. These figures are from post-election responses to supplementary questions in the monthly Current Population Survey for a sample of households in November of each election year. Respondents to the survey report their own voting activity and that of other members of their household. The sample systematically over-reports both voting and registration by several million people. In years prior to 1996, the questions used to determine citizenship measures were asked in different ways, and the U.S. Bureau of the Census advises some caution in direct comparison across these years.
Key Data Points for Women in the U.S.
- 2020 Census:168,763,470 females (50.9% of the total population).
- 2024 Projections:~171.77 million females (based on data from, Note: alternative estimates exist based on specific data sets).
- 2024 Voter Statistics:Roughly 91.3 million women were projected to have voted in the 2024 election cycle.
Progress Toward Gender Parity Stalled in Election 2024.
But There’s More to the Story.
The 2024 election did not mark significant changes in women’s political representation. While women’s representation increased at the state legislative level as a result of last year’s election, there were no net gains for women in statewide elective executive and congressional offices. The number of women governors momentarily reached a record high in early 2025, only to fall back to match the count of women top state executives serving in 2024. This report analyzes women’s electoral success in 2024, focusing on the numbers, and puts it into historical context — with special attention to how 2024 compared to the three elections that preceded it.
This report details the numeric gains and sites for stasis for women in congressional, statewide elective executive, and state legislative office, with particular attention to differences with men, between parties, and among women of different racial and ethnic groups. Together, they demonstrate that the trend toward gender parity in political leadership is inconsistent and that evaluating progress for women requires attentiveness to differences across party, race and ethnicity, geography, and time.
These outcomes for women came in the midst of a highly-contested presidential election wherein Vice President Kamala Harris (D) competed against former President Donald Trump (R). If successful, Harris – who became just the second woman major-party presidential nominee in U.S. history – would have been the first woman, first Black woman, and first South Asian person to be president of the United States. While neither gender nor race were sole determinants of her defeat, both were influential factors throughout the presidential contest and in ways beyond the identities of each nominee. Among some of the most salient issues were: abortion rights; rights of the transgender community; the promotion or pullback of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; and regulation of education around gender and racial equity. In addition, candidates at and below the presidential level confronted – and in some cases fostered and leveraged – grievances around perceived gender and race-based threats. The women candidates central to this report’s analysis navigated this gendered and raced terrain of election 2024.
The bottom line is, if women vote, women win! More women will be elected and more men who support women's issues will win!
