Milwaukee saw highest voter turnout of 50 largest U.S. cities in 2024, study finds

Milwaukee saw the highest voter turnout percentage of the 50 largest U.S. cities in the 2024 presidential election, according to a new analysis by researchers at the University of California-San Diego.

More than 85% of registered voters in Milwaukee cast their votes in the November election. In contrast, the country’s four largest cities all saw less than 70% turnout.

Statewide, Wisconsin once again beat its voter turnout record during this year’s presidential election.

Here’s what to know about voter turnout this year in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

How many Milwaukeeans voted in the 2024 presidential election?

Milwaukee saw just over 85% voter turnout in last month’s election, according to the Milwaukee Election Commission. Of 292,776 registered voters, 249,079 turned out at the polls. In Wisconsin, voters can register on Election Day.

Milwaukee County, meanwhile, saw even higher turnout. Among 523,802 registered voters, 465,949 cast a ballot, amounting to nearly 89% voter turnout, the county reported.

At both the city and county level, Milwaukee’s voter turnout was also more than 20 points higher than the national turnout level, the study found. Nationwide, about 63% of eligible Americans cast their ballots in the 2024 election, down from 66% in 2020. Across the 50 largest cities, turnout averaged about 68%.

Though President-elect Donald Trump ultimately carried Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harris won the overwhelming majority of the vote in Milwaukee. Harris carried 77% of the vote Milwaukee, while Trump garnered about 21%, and third-party candidates and write-in votes made up the remaining.

How many Milwaukeeans voted in the 2024 mayoral election?

Despite Milwaukee’s high presidential election showing, the city followed a nationwide trend of much lower voter turnout in its most recent mayoral election.

Only about 29% of registered voters cast their votes in April’s mayoral election. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson easily clinched a second term with 81% of the vote.

Unlike the presidential race, turnout in Milwaukee’s mayoral contest was also well below the average turnout of 37% among the 50 cities in the study.

How many people voted statewide in Wisconsin in the 2024 election?

Wisconsin also had its most voters ever in last month’s election, according to vote totals.

According to counts on Dec. 5, at least 3,415,213 Wisconsinites had voted in the 2024 presidential election, per the Associated Press. That’s at least 100,000 more voters than the previous record.

Wisconsin’s previous record turnout was in 2020, when just over 3.3 million voters cast a ballot in the general election., according to Wisconsin Elections Commission data since 1948.

U.S. cities with highest voter turnout in 2024 election

Among the 50 largest U.S. cities, here are the ones that saw the highest percentages of registered voters turn out in the 2024 election, according to the report:

1. Milwaukee (89% in county and 85% in city)

7. Colorado Springs, Colo. (77%)

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Voter turnout in Milwaukee was highest of large U.S. cities