Turnout as a Percentage of Voting-Age Population in Five Types of Texas Elections and Presidential Elections Nationwide, 1970-2021
| category | Presidential Elections-National | Presidential Elections-Texas | Gubernatorial Elections | Presidential Primaries | Gubernatorial Primaries | Special Constitutional Elections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | null | null | 31.12 | null | 15.59 | null |
| 1971 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
| 1972 | 55.21 | 44.90 | null | 29.84 | null | null |
| 1973 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
| 1974 | null | null | 19.99 | null | 19.21 | null |
| 1975 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
| 1976 | 53.55 | 46.14 | null | 21.37 | null | null |
| 1977 | null | null | null | null | null | 6.22 |
| 1978 | null | null | 25.29 | null | 21.04 | null |
| 1979 | null | null | null | null | null | 4.61 |
| 1980 | 52.56 | 45.55 | null | 19.10 | null | null |
| 1981 | null | null | null | null | null | 8.07 |
| 1982 | null | null | 29.82 | null | 14.81 | null |
| 1983 | null | null | null | null | null | 6.91 |
| 1984 | 53.11 | 47.55 | null | 15.86 | null | null |
| 1985 | null | null | null | null | null | 8.24 |
| 1986 | null | null | 29.05 | null | 13.85 | null |
| 1987 | null | null | null | null | null | 18.61 |
| 1988 | 50.11 | 44.34 | null | 22.73 | null | null |
| 1989 | null | null | null | null | null | 9.33 |
| 1990 | null | null | 31.08 | null | 18.70 | null |
| 1991 | null | null | null | null | null | 16.16 |
| 1992 | 55.09 | 47.64 | null | 17.65 | null | null |
| 1993 | null | null | null | null | null | 8.52 |
| 1994 | null | null | 33.62 | null | 12.19 | null |
| 1995 | null | null | null | null | null | 5.55 |
| 1996 | 49.08 | 40.97 | null | 14.17 | null | null |
| 1997 | null | null | null | null | null | 8.45 |
| 1998 | null | null | 26.53 | null | 8.95 | null |
| 1999 | null | null | null | null | null | 6.69 |
| 2000 | 51.30 | 44.25 | null | 13.22 | null | null |
| 2001 | null | null | null | null | null | 5.58 |
| 2002 | null | null | 29.35 | null | 10.62 | null |
| 2003 | null | null | null | null | null | 9.31 |
| 2004 | 55.40 | 46.11 | null | 9.49 | null | null |
| 2005 | null | null | null | null | null | 13.82 |
| 2006 | null | null | 26.44 | null | 6.99 | null |
| 2007 | null | null | null | null | null | 6.31 |
| 2008 | 56.90 | 45.55 | null | 23.89 | null | null |
| 2009 | null | null | null | null | null | 5.77 |
| 2010 | null | null | 25.74 | null | 11.60 | null |
| 2011 | null | null | null | null | null | 3.80 |
| 2012 | 53.60 | 43.70 | null | 11.16 | null | null |
| 2013 | null | null | null | null | null | 6.14 |
| 2014 | null | null | 24.3 | null | 11.60 | null |
| 2015 | null | null | null | null | null | 8.30 |
| 2016 | 54.70 | 46.45 | null | 22.13 | null | null |
| 2017 | null | null | null | null | null | 4.50 |
| 2018 | null | null | 42.07 | null | 13.15 | null |
| 2019 | null | null | null | null | null | 9.19 |
| 2020 | 61 | 52.39 | null | 19.04 | null | null |
| 2021 | null | null | null | null | null | 6.79 |
Texas loves elections. Or so it would seem, judging by the sheer number of them. Ignoring municipal and other local elections, Texas holds at least one statewide election every year and typically several. But judging by participation in them, Texans hate elections. This chart shows that turnout in every type of election in Texas is lower than turnout nationwide in presidential elections which averaged 52.5 percent during this period. Turnout in Texas presidential elections is routinely higher than other types of state elections, though, averaging 45.2 percent. Gubernatorial election turnout averages only 28.4 percent while presidential and gubernatorial primary turnout is lower yet averaging 18.2 percent and 15.0 percent respectively. Special constitutional elections in which voters decide on changes to the Texas constitution epitomize the electoral turn-off, averaging a dismal 8.7 percent.