How Montana Voters Showed Up Strong in the 2024 Election

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 65.3% of U.S. citizens voted in the 2024 elections. It was also the third-highest turnout in the past 34 years. Some of the numbers tell an interesting story. 

Women voted at a higher rate than men in the last election. The last time men had a higher voting rate than women was in 1976. 

Having our election day on the first Tuesday after Monday in November isn’t always easy for everyone to vote. There have been discussions about making Election Day a national holiday. H.R. 7329 was introduced by Representative Anna Eshoo, but it didn’t advance. 

Five states mandate that employers give paid time off for employees to vote. Montana isn’t one of them.  

Montana’s Voter Turnout Surpasses National Average

Montana had a higher turnout for the 2024 election than the national average. USAFacts.org, using U.S. Census Bureau numbers, shows that Montana had a 69.2% voter turnout rate. This is a higher voter turnout rate than most of our neighbors.

READ MORE: Montana Sees Red as GOP Sweeps 2024 

The only neighboring state with a higher voting rate than Montana was North Dakota, with a 71.2% voter turnout. Idaho had 65.2%, Wyoming had 63.8%, and South Dakota had 58.9%.

How Montana Compares to Neighboring States

Across the country, in-person voting was the most common method of casting a ballot. The most common reason people didn’t vote in 2024 was that they weren’t interested, which was also the top reason why people didn’t vote in 2020.  

READ MORE: From Your Outfit to Your Record: 3 Things Montana Voters Need to Know

Even though Montana had a higher turnout than the national average, three out of ten voting age Montana citizens didn’t vote in the last election. 

*Data is as a percentage of voting age citizens, not registered voters or resident population.