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Politics and Government News
Clay Masters and Peter Cox

Wisconsin squeaks past Minnesota for the top spot in voter turnout

election day 6
A “vote here” sign stands outside the University of Minnesota’s Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis on Nov. 5, 2024. Minnesota dropped to number two in voter turnout in the last presidential election.
Tim Evans for MPR News

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In the race between Gophers and Badgers for voter turnout, the Badgers won.

Voters in Wisconsin narrowly outperformed Minnesota voters in the 2024 election. The University of Florida’s Election Lab reported that 76.35 percent of the voting-eligible population cast ballots in Minnesota. In Wisconsin, 76.64 percent of the voting-eligible population cast ballots.

Secretary of State Steve Simon regularly touts Minnesota’s long-running first place voter turnout position. And he said while turnout was strong in the 2024 general election, it came up just a little bit short.

“In a heartbreakingly close contest, Minnesota lost the title of number one in voter turnout to Wisconsin for the 2024 election,” Simon said in a statement. “We congratulate our neighbors to the east on this victory and we’ll continue our work to earn the top spot back in 2026.”

Wisconsin was one of a handful of battleground states in last year’s presidential election. Campaigns spent tens of millions of dollars in Wisconsin and voters sent a mixed message back by reelecting Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

Minnesota stayed in the Democratic column. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the presidential vote in Minnesota with Gov. Tim Walz on the ticket. DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar easily defeated her Republican opponent.