States with the Best & Worst Representation on Election Day (2025)

Election history reveals a perpetually glaring problem in America: low voter turnout among certain demographic groups, including young, minority and low-income citizens. Because of this, a state’s voters don’t necessarily reflect the same demographic composition as its population, which can lead to election results that favor the people who went to the polls and disadvantage those who didn’t.

In a previous analysis of the U.S. electorate, WalletHub determined which states’ populations most closely mirror the rest of the nation. We also did in-depth comparisons of the U.S. electorate to that of the first two presidential nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire.

On the heels of those reports and ahead of this November’s presidential election, WalletHub determined which of the 50 states’ voters most closely represent the actual demographics of their electorates based on race, age and gender. We also analyzed how voters nationally reflect the U.S. electorate using those factors plus employment status, family income, educational attainment and marital status.

“There are plenty of reasons people don’t vote, from not having time to feeling like it won’t count for anything. Unfortunately, when large segments of the population skip the ballot box, this can skew future economic and social policies to favor those who did vote, to the detriment of those who didn’t. States where the voting population most closely matches the electorate are more likely to elect representatives and institute policies that help all demographics.”

Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst

State Representation

Note: Rank 1 = Voters demographic represent most of the state’s electorate.

In-Depth Look at the Top States

New Jersey

New Jersey is the state where voters most closely resemble the actual electorate, earning 96.6 points out of a possible 100 in our study. It scores well across all the categories in our study.

When it comes to race specifically, New Jersey is the state that has the closest match, scoring 94.8 out of 100 points for similarity. For example, New Jersey has the second-lowest discrepancy between the share of Asian residents who were eligible to vote in 2020 and those who actually voted, and the seventh-lowest difference for Hispanic residents.

The Garden State also has the second lowest discrepancy between the ages of the electorate and the ages of people who voted in the 2020 election, scoring 95.3 out of 100. Finally, New Jersey has the fourth-lowest difference in the gender of voters who could vote and who actually voted. It scores 99.5 points out of 100.

New York

New York ranks second when it comes to how well its voters represent the overall population that is eligible to vote, earning 94.1 points out of a possible 100. It scores especially well in the categories of age and race, and decently for gender.

New York has the fourth-best voter representation in the country when it comes to age, scoring 94.5 points of 100. For example, New York has the third-lowest difference between people ages 65+ who could vote and those who actually voted in the 2020 election, and the fourth-lowest difference for those ages 18 to 44.

In addition, New York’s voter representation index is the 13th best in the country when it comes to race, scoring 88.8 out of 100. Notably, it has the eighth-lowest discrepancy between the share of black people who could and did vote in the 2020 election. New York ranks 21st out of the 50 states for gender representation in its voters, too, with a score of 97.9 out of 100.

Maryland

Maryland ranks third in the country for how closely its voters match the demographics of its electorate, with an overall score of 93.8 out of a possible 100. It scores very well in the categories of age and race.

The Old Line State is where voters’ ages most closely match the ages of the electorate as a whole, receiving a score of 97.2 out of 100 as a result. For example, it has the lowest difference between the share of the population ages 18 to 44 who could vote and actually did vote in the 2020 election.

Maryland’s voter representation index is the 10th-best in the country when it comes to race, earning 89.2 out of 100 points. For gender representation, though, it only ranks 48th in the country, with a score of 94.9 out of 100.

National Representation

Ask the Experts

For additional insight into why lower voter turnout persists among certain groups, we turned to a panel of experts in fields such as political science, American studies and racial discrimination. Click on the panelists’ profiles below to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. Why are minority voters less likely to show up at the polls?
2. Are there any measures that authorities can take to encourage more people — especially from underrepresented communities — to vote?
3. How can redistricting be reformed in a way that ensures fair representation for the electorate?
4. To what extent do voter-ID laws and voting logistics (early voting, absentee ballot, etc.) affect voter turnout, particularly for minority populations?

Ask the Experts

Brandon Rottinghaus
Professor, Department of Political Science – University of Houston
Read More

Christopher M. England
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Political Science, Department of Culture, History, & Politics – College of Western Idaho
Read More

Chad Kinsella
Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Administration / American Politics – Ball State University
Read More

Methodology

To determine which states’ voters most demographically represent their electorates, WalletHub’s analysts compared the distribution of the voting population in each of the 50 states to the distribution of the state’s total population by race, age and gender.

Each demographic category was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the lowest absolute difference between the state voter distribution and the state population distribution.

We then calculated overall scores for each state using the weighted average across all metrics, which we then used to determine WalletHub’s State Voter Representation Index. The resulting index values were used to rank the states.

Finally, we applied the same approach to determine WalletHub’s National Voter Representation Index. For this particular part of the analysis, however, we compared the national voter distribution to the U.S. electorate distribution by the same demographic traits we used for the states, plus four additional categories: employment status, family income, educational attainment and marital status.

We considered only data from the 2020 presidential election for both the state and national analyses.

WalletHub’s State Voter Representation Index

Race - Total Points: 33.3

• White: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• African-American: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Asian: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Hispanic: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Other: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Age - Total Points: 33.3

• Aged 18 to 44: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)
• Aged 45 to 64: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)
• Aged 65 & Older: Full Weight (~11.11 Points)

Gender - Total Points: 33.3

• Male: Full Weight (~16.67 Points)
• Female: Full Weight (~16.67 Points)

WalletHub’s National Voter Representation Index

Race - Total Points: 14.3

• White: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• African-American: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Asian: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Hispanic: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Other: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Age - Total Points: 14.3

• Age 18 to 24: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Age 25 to 34: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Age 35 to 44: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Age 45 to 64: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Age 65 & Older: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

Gender - Total Points: 14.3

• Male: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
• Female: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)

Employment Status - Total Points: 14.3

• Government Worker: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Private Industry: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Self-Employed: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Unemployed: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Family Income - Total Points: 14.3

• ≤$19,999: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• $20,000 to $49,999: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• $50,000 to $74,999: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• $75,000 to $99,999: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• $100,000 to $149,999: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• $150,000+: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)

Educational Attainment - Total Points: 14.3

• Some High School: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• High School Graduate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Some College or Associate’s Degree: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Marital Status - Total Points: 14.3

• Married: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Widowed: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Divorced: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Separated: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
• Never Married: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this report were collected as of September 5, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau.

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