Dashboard Elections Voter Turnout - General Assembly of Maryland Department of Legislative Services

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Summary

Since 2000, statewide voter turnout (as a percentage of registered voters) for presidential general elections has followed a relatively consistent pattern of being roughly between 70% and 80%. Turnout for presidential primary elections has been less consistent, with a high of 39% in 2008 and a low of 17% in 2012. Turnout for gubernatorial general elections, as a percentage of voter registration, had been decreasing, from approximately 62% in 2002 to 47% in 2014, but rebounded in 2018 to 59%; and turnout for gubernatorial primaries declined from approximately 31% in 2002 to 20% in 2014, before increasing to 22% in 2018. In-person early voting has grown as a percentage of total votes cast, since it was first implemented in 2010, and has represented close to one-third of votes cast in each of the 2016, 2018, and 2020 general elections. Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, mail-in voting increased significantly in 2020, and was the predominant voting method.

Note: The turnout percentages for the primary elections shown in this dashboard are percentages of all registered voters and not limited to registered voters eligible to vote in the election, due to the unavailability of eligible voter numbers for some past elections. Third‑party and unaffiliated registered voters are not eligible to vote in a primary if there are no nonpartisan (i.e., school board) races being voted on in the primary election in their jurisdiction, since they cannot vote in the Democratic or Republican primary races.

Voter Turnout (Charts)

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