How New York voted

Nov. 3 is behind us, but New Yorkers are still desperate for election results. While we try to stay calm and wait for every vote to be counted, here are some takeaways from the voter turnout numbers that are available to us now.

NY’s total votes for president

2016: 7,801,985

2020: approx. 8.2 million (so far)

More than 6.6 million New Yorkers voted in person in 2020, and with about 1.5 million absentee ballots received (and nearly 1 million outstanding), we will surpass the turnout from 2016.

NY absentee ballots returned

2016: 402,151

2020: approx. 1.5 million (so far)

After expanding eligibility qualifications due to the pandemic, New York’s absentee ballot returns have already dwarfed the numbers from 2016, and there are still some ballots in the mail.

In-person voting

Early votes: 2.51 million

Election Day votes: approx. 4.1 million

Big crowds during early voting didn’t necessarily carry over to Election Day, when crowds that would’ve been dangerous for COVID-19 transmission were smaller.

Registered voters who actually voted 

2016: 62%

2020: 60.6% (so far) 

While the number of votes cast in 2020 was higher than 2016, an additional 1 million New Yorkers registered to vote in the past four years (12.5 million were registered in 2016, 13.5 million in 2020). Estimates showed the state’s population was actually smaller in 2020 than it was four years ago.

2020 total turnout

New York: approx. 8.2 million

Texas: approx. 11 million

New York’s voter turnout has nothing on Texas, where the state surpassed its 2016 turnout four days before the election. Texas has allowed early voting for three decades.