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While votes are still being counted in this year’s election, early data suggests older voters have continued that pattern. In nine states that report early-vote turnout by age, 41- to
65-year-olds and those over 65 voted early at a higher rate than younger age groups, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, which examines voting demographics. That tracks with
AARP preelection polling, which showed that in battleground states, older voters were more motivated than voters of all ages to cast a ballot. But older voters are not a monolith. In fact,
voters ages 50 to 64 tended to lean more to the right than voters 65 and older, according to 2024 exit polling. That’s a function of the times, Ward says. People 65 and older are closer to
the Woodstock generation, which came of age fighting for civil rights, women’s rights, and against the Vietnam War. Those values still shape their political views, he says. Gender played a
role in the outcome of the election too. Trump won older men by 14 percentage points, while Harris won older women by 4 percentage points, according to AP VoteCast. Those numbers reveal “a
significant gender gap,” says Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer. Older voters had a pivotal impact in battleground states where the
national election was decided. For example, in Pennsylvania, Trump won with 54 percent of the vote among 50- to 64-year-olds, compared to 45 percent for Harris. He also garnered 52 percent
of the vote to Harris’ 47 percent among voters 65 and older. “Pennsylvania is an older state,” says Christopher Borick, a political science professor and director of the Muhlenberg College
Institute of Public Opinion in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “Trump carried seniors. That, in a state like Pennsylvania, is incredibly impactful.” Even though voters under 50 favored Harris,
“that’s hard to overcome in this state,” Borick says.