WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Election experts predict voter turnout could hit 67% in the presidential election – the highest turnout since 1900.
Michael P. McDonald, a University of Florida professor who tracks election data through the United States Election Project, predicts about 160 million votes were cast in the general election.
His figure of 66.9% of eligible voters would mark the first time since 1900 that turnout reached that amount, according to McDonald.
“That is not a typo. The 2020 presidential election had the highest turnout rate in 120 years,” McDonald tweeted on Wednesday morning. “There is still a fair amount of guesswork involving outstanding ballots to be counted.”
McDonald says voter turnout in the election of 1900 was 73.7%. In parts of the 19th century, turnout regularly exceed 80%.
More than 100 million votes were cast early in this election — largely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At least seven states surpassed their 2016 vote totals during the early-voting period. Those states were Texas, Florida, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Montana.