An early exit poll released on Tuesday showed that while more white voters are going to the polls for the presidential election, the Black and Hispanic voter turnout is lower than in 2020.
Millions of Americans are continuing to cast their ballots on Tuesday to decide the next president of the United States with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, facing off against former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee.
While most polls opened at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. local time, some polls will begin to close in the U.S. from 7 p.m. with the majority closing between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m.
What Does the Early Exit Poll Show?
According to preliminary results from a national exit poll conducted by Edison Research and published by Reuters, 71 percent of voters nationwide were white, compared with 67 percent in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll.
While results will be updated as additional poll responses are gathered, the exit poll showed that 11 percent of voters were Black, compared with 13 percent in 2020.
Meanwhile, 12 percent of voters were Hispanic in 2024, compared with 13 percent in 2020.
What Did the Exit Poll Reveal About Men and Women?
In a further breakdown of the early exit poll, 34 percent of voters nationwide were white men, compared with 35 percent in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. However, white women saw an increase this year at 37 percent compared to 32 percent in 2020.
Among Black voters, there was no change in Black men as 4 percent of voters nationwide were Black men this year and in 2020. However, there was a slight decrease in Black women with 7 percent in 2024 compared with 8 percent in 2020.
Among Hispanic voters, 6 percent of voters nationwide were Hispanic men, compared with 5 percent in 2020. There was also a slight decrease in Hispanic women with 6 percent of voters this year compared with 8 percent in 2020.
The Impact
The exit poll comes as Trump has seen his approval ratings fall among white voters, according to another early exit poll.
In a worrying sign for the former president's campaign, NBC reported that Trump's support among white voters had dropped from 57 percent in 2020 to 49 percent in 2024.
However, Trump has seen his support rise over the same period among Black and Latino voters.
Support from Latino voters rose from 38 percent in 2020 to 42 percent in 2024.
Among Black voters, Trump saw his support rise from 10 percent to 14 percent over the same period.
Meanwhile, the national exit polling from Edison Research also suggested that more white women and college-educated voters are participating in the 2024 presidential election than in 2020.
The poll shows that 43 percent of voters this year have a college degree, up from 41 percent in 2020, according to Reuters. A total of 37 percent of the electorate was white women, an increase from 32 percent in 2020. Women made up 53 percent of voters overall, an increase from 52 percent in 2020.
It comes as previous polling suggests that Harris has a clear edge over Trump among college-educated voters and among women, including white women.
A margin of error was not provided for the Edison Research exit poll.
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