Voting groups help get Americans to the ballot box

(WUSF) – For the 2024 presidential election, the U.S. had roughly 245 million eligible voters. But only about 64% actually cast a ballot, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

Florida had a slightly higher turnout at about 67%.

The nonpartisan groups Voter Participation Center (VPC) and Center for Voter Information (CVI) aim to raise that number.

The groups are sending 11.1 million voter registration applications to Americans who are eligible to vote but are not registered. More than one million of those will go to Floridians. The groups are also sending 57,160 vote-by-mail applications to people across the Sunshine State.

In 2024, Florida had roughly 16.3 million eligible voters. As of Tuesday, close to 13.5 million people were registered to vote statewide.

“Our goal is simple: to make it as easy as possible for eligible Americans to vote,” VPC and CVI President and CEO Tom Lopach said in a press release.

He said the groups are seeing more barriers to voting nationwide.