The highest turnout in a modern American midterm election was 50% in 2018.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 5 contradict4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Badlands MediaSep 16, 2026
The 2018 midterm is the highest midterm turnout since 1914, but the reported rate depends on the measure: the U.S. Elections Project gives about 50.1–50.3% of eligible voters (so the claimed 50% fits), while the Census Bureau and EAC report 53–53.4% of the citizen voting-age population and BBC reports 49.2% of the voting-age public.
Minor detail. The sources confirm the claim; only a minor detail differs, such as a name's spelling, a title's wording or a rounding.
What was said
… But it's working. Everything the administration is doing is failing. And I think what we're going to see in this election is something really special. The highest turnout we've ever seen in a modern American midterm election is 50% in 2018. Hey Ash, they uploaded the whole thing to their YouTube. Oh, did they? Uh-huh. Right on, let's do that, because the whole thing is good. Um also, according to Pew Research, turnout among registered voters in 2020 was 94.1%. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Census Bureau and EAC data put 2018 turnout at 53–53.4% of the citizen voting-age population, which is above the claimed 50% under that measure.[3][4]
Contradicts. BBC reported 49.2% of the voting-age public voted in 2018, and early estimates from NPR (about 47%) and The Hill (48.1%) gave lower figures, so the claimed 50% is at the top end of the competing estimates.[6][7][8]
Supports. The U.S. Elections Project figure of 50.3% of eligible voters in 2018, reported by AP-syndicated VOTE report and Indiana University, matches the claimed 50% and is the highest midterm rate since 1914.[1][2][5]
Supports. Vox reports 50.1% of the voting-eligible population turned out in 2018, the highest midterm share since 1914, consistent with the claimed 50%.[9]
Context. The 2018 rate was the highest midterm turnout since 1914, which supports the 'highest ever in a modern midterm' framing, though the sources only report the 2018 figure as the record rather than a 50% exact value.[2][9][10]
Sources
10 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 primary, 2 tier 1, 2 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1WV voter turnout up, still lags nationallyapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Instagram post wrongly characterizes voter turnout datapolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 3Voter Turnout Rates Among All Voting Age and Major ...census.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Important Data on the 2018 Elections Released Todayeac.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 52018 voter turnout: Was it as impressive as it seemed? (Mar-Apr 2019)incontext.indiana.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 6US mid-term election set record voter turnout - BBCbbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: contradicts
- 7A Boatload Of Ballots: Midterm Voter Turnout Hit 50-Year Highnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 8Voter turnout in midterms highest in 50 years: reportthehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: contradicts
- 9The 2018 midterms had the highest turnout since before World ...vox.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 10Historic highs in 2018 voter turnout extended across racial and ethnic groupspewresearch.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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