Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Turnout at General Election lowest for more than 20 years

Turnout dropped more than seven percentage points from the level in 2019.

Ian Jones
Saturday 06 July 2024 13:57 EDT
Turnout at the General Election was the second lowest figure since the Second World War (Peter Byrne/PA)
Turnout at the General Election was the second lowest figure since the Second World War (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Turnout at the General Election was the lowest for more than 20 years.

With all 650 results declared, the overall turnout was 59.9%.

This is down sharply from 67.3% at the last election in 2019.

It is also the worst turnout at a general election since 2001, when the figure slumped to 59.4%: the lowest since before the Second World War.

The highest turnout at a general election since the war was 83.9% in 1950, according to figures compiled by the House of Commons Library.

Turnout remained above 75% at every post-war general election until 1970, when it dipped to 72.0%.

It then stayed above 70% at every election until plunging to 59.4% in 2001 – since then it has never been above 70%.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in