Iowa Voting Series, Paper 4: An Examination of Iowa Turnout Statistics Since 2000 by Party and Age Group

This is the fourth paper in a series examining aspects of voting in Iowa. This paper examines Iowa’s turnout in presidential and midterm elections since 2000 with a focus on party and age group. Iowa’s election statistics are reported for five age groups: 18-24, 25-34, 35-49, 50-64, and 65 and over. The different age ranges covered by the groups makes direct comparisons difficult, but changes during the period examined are evident as those registered to vote move from one age group to the next. The mix of registered Democrats and Republicans remains relatively stable across age groups during the period. Most striking in terms of voter registration is how No Party registrants go from more than 50% of those in the youngest age group to only about 20% of those in the oldest group. Looking at election turnout, the data show that there is a clear progression in improved turnout as voters age. In addition, older voters are more reliable, meaning differences in turnout between midterm and presidential elections are less pronounced for older age groups. Turnout differences between Democrats and Republicans are generally small across all age groups, with Republicans nearly always having a slight advantage. Although the turnout percentage of No Party registrants also improves with age, they are always well below Democrats and Republicans.