Figure 4 Election Turnout Tallies and CPS Reported Turnout, Presidential Elec tion Years, 1964 to 2008
The Census Bureau’s biannual Current Population Survey November Voting and Registration Supplement is the most comprehensive data source available for examining the demographic composition of the electorate in federal elections. However, because it relies on post-election self-reporting by survey respondents in some 55,000 households, these weighted CPS estimates of turnout never match up precisely with the actual number of votes tallied in the 50 states. According to the CPS, an estimated 131.1 million U.S. citizens voted in the 2008 presidential election – slightly less than the 131.3 million votes cast for president, as reported by the Center for the Study of the American Electorate (Gans, 2008) and other sources (McDonald, 2009).
Figure 4  | Election Turnout Tallies and CPS Reported Turnout,  | Presidential Elec tion Years, 1964 to 2008  | (in millions)  | 131.1  | 125.7  | CPS Reported Turnout  | 131.3  | 113.9  | 110.8  | 122.3  | 105.0  | 101.9 102.2  | 93. 1  | 1054  | 104.4  | 85.8 $6.7  | 96.3  | 76.7 79.0  | 92.7 91.6  | 86.5  | 81.6  | Election Tumout  | 77.7  | 73.2  | 70.6  | 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008  | Sources: CPS Reported Turnout Series 1964 to 2004 from Census Bureau  | (http./fwown. census goulpoulatcal.cclacomorou 9.xds). CCS Reported Turnout  | for 2008 from Pew Research Center tabulations of Current Population Survey November 2008  | Supplement data Election Turnout series from 1964 to 2004 from Pew Research Center (2005).  | Election turnout for 2008 from Gans (2008) 