Pennsylvania Sees Record Voter Turnout in 2024 General Election

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania experienced record-high voter turnout in the 2024 general election, with both registered voter and voting-age population participation rates ranking among the highest since 1988, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Friday.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, 77.1% of registered voters and 68.5% of the voting-age population cast ballots in the November election. Thirty-five of the state’s 67 counties reported turnout rates of 80% or higher, including several in the Susquehanna Valley.

“Every vote is precious — a single vote being rejected is intolerable,” Schmidt said during a press conference. “That’s why we’ve done all we can to minimize the opportunity for voters to make mistakes.”

The election saw more than 11,000 mail-in ballots rejected for technical reasons, including approximately 2,600 for incorrect dates and 2,100 for missing dates on return envelopes. An additional 3,000 ballots were invalidated due to voters failing to use secrecy envelopes, and over 3,500 were rejected for lacking signatures.

County election officials do not use the outer envelope dates for any practical purpose, instead timestamping ballots upon receipt. However, the date requirement has been the subject of ongoing legal battles, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court expected to rule on its constitutionality in mid-January.

Despite these challenges, the rejection rate for mail-in ballots improved significantly from 2.4% in the April primary to about 1% in November. The Department of State attributed this progress to redesigned ballot envelopes and voter education efforts.

“We wanted to minimize opportunities for voters to make mistakes, whether they’re elderly or filling this out while sending their kids off to school in the morning,” Schmidt explained.

Approximately 2 million Pennsylvanians voted by mail in the 2024 election, with about 88% of mailed ballots being successfully returned. The state continues to refine its election processes while balancing security measures with voter accessibility.

Associated Press reporter Maya Sweedler in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.