Who is least likely to vote in a national election

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Image: Stephen B. Hundreds of thousands of nonvoters would vote if they could. Financial barriers, lack of access to transportation, and limited information can make it difficult for older people, people of color, and low-income people to obtain an ID.

Former and current prisoners convicted of felonies are another group of people who are often disenfranchised during elections, especially if they are African American. Maine and Vermont are the only states that do not prohibit those convicted of felonies from voting, even when they are in prison. Research shows that nonvoters are more likely to be low-income, young, Hispanic, or Asian American.

Various laws and structural systems, from limited early voting windows to ID restrictions, disproportionately impact people of color and contribute to voter suppression across the country.

College graduates, who tend to make more money, are also more likely to seek out information on politics and vote. Regardless of other factors, women report turning out to vote at slightly higher rates than men. A line of mostly students wait to vote at a Texas primary election polling site on the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas on March 6, Sunday is the most common voting day around the world, except in the US. While early voting and mail-in voting gives citizens more flexibility, not all states offer these options.

The Republican and Democratic parties are the two largest political parties in the US. As recently as , voter participation rates were higher among men than among women.

Whites are more likely to vote than blacks 60 percent vs. Among citizens, 44 percent of Hispanics and 45 percent of Asian Americans voted in Voter participation increases with age. Two-thirds of people ages 65 and older voted in the election, compared with less than half of adults under age Among young adults ages 18 to 24 , just one-third cast ballots in Voting in was higher in the Midwest 59 percent than in any other region. Participation was lowest in the South and West 52 percent.

In , 61 percent of married people living with their spouses voted in the presidential election, compared with 58 percent of people who were widowed, 49 percent of people who were divorced, and about 40 percent of people who were separated or never married.