Voter turnout for the 2022 midterm elections was the 2nd highest since 2000

Employees of the Miami-Dade County Elections Department process vote-by-mail ballots for the midterm elections in November 2022 in Miami.

Lynne Sladky / Lynne Sladky

With 52.2% of adult U.S. citizens casting ballots, voter turnout for last year’s elections was the second highest for a midterms since 2000, according to estimates the Census Bureau released Tuesday.

The 2018 midterms — the first major national contests after former President Donald Trump’s election — saw slightly higher turnout than last year’s races.

The 2022 midterm elections also saw a continuing shift toward early and mail-in voting since the COVID-19 pandemic, as 49.8% of voters opted out of the more traditional way of casting their ballots in person on the last day of voting.