The decline of voting in person on Election Day: Two surveys, one trend % of total votes in U.S. cast in physical polling places on Election Day, according to
But votes cast on Election Day have grown steadily less significant over the past several election cycles as a share of total votes cast, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of two datasets.
In 1996, 89.5% of voters reported voting in person on Election Day, according to the Census Bureau’s post-election surveys. As recently as 2006, that share was 80.4%. But then the in-person Election Day portion of the vote began to skid, falling to below 60% each election cycle since 2014.
The trend also is evident in the biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), conducted by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency charged with helping states meet federal election rules. The survey, which gathers voting, registration and election-administration data from state and local officials, found that the share of votes cast at physical polling places on Election Day fell from 75.1% in 2006 to 55.4% in 2018.
The decline of voting in person on  | Election Day: Two surveys, one trend  | % of total votes in U.S. cast in physical polling  | places on Election Day, according to  | 100%  | Census Bureau  | 89. 5  | 80  | 75  | 75.1  | 50 Election Assistance manuan 55.4  | Commission  | 25  | '96 '98 I'OO '02 '04 '06 '08 10 '12 '14 '16 '18  | Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Voting and Registration  | Supplement to Current Population Survey (various years);  | U.S Election Assistance Commission, Election Administration  | and Voting Survey (various years).  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 