Voter turnout 2024: How many people will vote in Pa?

Roughly 160 million people will vote in the 2024 presidential election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported record-high turnout in 2020 with about 159 million voters.

But the number of people who will decide the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is only a fraction of those eligible to cast a vote.

Presidential elections historically draw the highest number of voters to the polls — particularly one as tight and divisive as this one — when about 70% of registered voters participate, according to the United States Election Project, which tracks voter turnout statistics. In comparison, only about 50% of registered voters participate in non-presidential years, based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

That disparity plays out on the state level, too.

So, how many people will vote — and how many should — in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania is a key swing state, with 19 electoral votes on the line and possibly the White House race on its back.

How many voters are there in Pennsylvania?

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have spent considerable time and money in the Keystone State over the past few months hoping to energize their base and spur voters to cast a ballot.

This year, there are around 9 million registered voters in Pennsylvania — roughly split at 47% Democrat, 42% Republican, with the remainder unaffiliated or minor parties, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

If history holds true, about 7 million have or will cast a ballot, totaling about 70% of all eligible voters, based on voter turnout estimates by the United States Election Project.

In the last presidential election, when President Joe Biden narrowly took the state from Trump, about 6.9 million people voted, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. The number dropped to around 4 million the next year and stayed in that range through the 2023 race, based on Pennsylvania voter turnout records from recent elections.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Voter turnout 2024: How many people will vote in swing state Pa