New data from the Pew Research Center reveals key insights into how the racial composition of the U.S. electorate has changed over the past two decades.
For the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, some 250 million adult U.S. citizens will be eligible to vote. The majority of those citizens are White, but the share of White eligible voters has declined significantly over the past two decades, dropping from 74 percent of all eligible voters in 2006 to 61 percent of all eligible voters in 2026. In contrast, the shares of Hispanic and Asian voters have nearly doubled over the same time period, rising from 9 percent to 16 percent for the Hispanic population and from 3 percent to 5 percent for the Asian population. Notably, Black Americans have consistently represented 12 percent of all eligible U.S. voters over the past two decades, with the exception of 2018, when they represented 13 percent of the U.S. electorate.
Since 2022, the number of eligible U.S. voters has grown by 8.4 percent, largely due to an increase in Hispanic voters. Currently, there are 30,650,000 Black eligible voters, an increase of 5,250,000 (6 percent) from 2022. Over the same time period, there has been a 2 percent drop in the overall number of White eligible voters, a 16 percent increase in the number of Hispanic eligible voters, and a 20 percent increase in the number of Asian eligible voters.
At the state level, Black Americans represent the largest shares of eligible voters in Washington, D.C. (40.9 percent), Mississippi (35.8 percent), Georgia (31.5 percent), Louisiana (30.7 percent), and Maryland (30.0 percent). Black Americans represent less than one percent of eligible voters in six states: Montana, Idaho, Vermont, Wyoming, Maine, and Utah.
As of 2024, White Americans represent the majority of eligible voters in 46 states; they represent less than half of eligible voters in Texas (46 percent), the District of Columbia (42 percent), New Mexico (41 percent), California (40 percent), and Hawaii (24 percent).
The states with the largest number of eligible Black voters are Texas (2.7 million), Georgia (2.5 million), Florida (2.3 million), New York (1.9 million), and North Carolina (1.7 million). In contrast, California has by far the most White, Hispanic, and Asian eligible voters. Similar to Black Americans, large numbers of White and Hispanic eligible voters are also found in Texas, Florida, and New York
Notably, the racial composition of the U.S. electorate does not match that of the U.S. population, as only U.S. citizens over the age of 18 can vote. Among White Americans, 81 percent are eligible to vote, 1 percent are noncitizens, and 18 percent are under the age of 18. For Black Americans, 74 percent can vote, 4 percent are noncitizens, and 23 percent are under the age of 18. Lower shares of the overall Hispanic and Asian populations can vote (52 percent and 60 percent, respectively).
By age, White eligible voters are by far the oldest group, with a median age of 52 years. Black (45 years), Hispanic (39 years), and Asian (47 years) eligible voters are younger. By educational attainment, White (39 percent) and Asian (54 percent) eligible voters are more likely to be college-educated than Black (25 percent) and Hispanic (22 percent) eligible voters.
