Gender Gaps in Vote Choice and Party Identification

Gender Gap in Vote Choice

A gender gap in voting refers to a difference between the percentage of women and the percentage of men voting for a given candidate, generally the winning candidate. Even when women and men favor the same candidate, they may do so by different margins, resulting in a gender gap. In every presidential election since 1980, a gender gap has been apparent, with a greater proportion of women than men preferring the Democrat in each case. The magnitude of the gender gap has ranged in size from four to twelve points since 1980. The “women’s vote” is the percentage point advantage that one candidate has over the other among women voters — that is, the difference in support for the major party candidates among women voters only.

In every presidential election since 1996, a majority of women have preferred the Democratic candidate. Moreover, women and men have favored different candidates in presidential elections since 2000, with the exception of 2008 when men were almost equally divided in their preferences for Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. In 2024, a majority of women favored the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris while a majority of men voted for the Republican victor, Donald Trump.

Data illustrate that women are not a monolithic voting bloc. Across Asian American, Black, Latinx, and white voters, women are more likely than men to report voting for the Democratic candidate. However, a majority of white women have voted for the Republican candidate since the 2000 presidential election when white women were almost equally split between Democrat Al Gore and Republican victor, George W. Bush. In contrast, a large majority of Asian, Black, and Latina women have supported the Democratic candidate for the entirety of the time period in which data disaggregated by gender and race has been available.

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Gender Gap Among White Voters 

A majority of white women have voted for the Republican candidate since the 2000 presidential election when white women were almost equally split between Democrat Al Gore and Republican victor, George W. Bush. Still, a gender gap persists between white women and white men whereby a higher proportion of white men than women have voted for Republican presidential candidates. 

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Gender Gap Among Black Voters 

A large majority of Black women and men have voted for the Democratic candidate in every election with available voter demographic data. Still, a gender gap persists between Black women and Black men whereby a higher proportion of Black women than men have voted for Democratic presidential candidates. In 2008, however, both Black women and men voted at especially high — and nearly identical — rates for Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Gender Gap Among Latinx Voters 

A majority of Latinas have voted for the Democratic candidate in every election with available voter demographic data, and they have been more likely than Latino men to vote for Democratic candidates. In 2024, the Edison exit poll showed a majority of Latino men voting for the Republican presidential candidate for the first time. However, alternative election polls — including those credited with better sampling of the Latinx population — do not show as large of a shift among this group. Regardless of poll, a gender gap persists among Latinx voters with Latinas backing Democratic candidates in higher proportions than Latino men. 

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Gender Gap Among Asian American Voters

Exit polls with sufficient sampling of Asian American voters have been rare. Only in recent cycles has data been available to compare presidential vote choice between Asian American women and men. A majority of Asian American voters have backed the Democratic candidate in each election since 2016, but Asian American women have supported the Democratic nominee at higher rates than Asian American men. While gender differences among Asian American voters were small in 2016 and 2020, the gender gap in vote choice grew in 2024.

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).

Methodology and Sources

All Edison and Voter News Service (previously known as Voter Research and Surveys) national exit poll data presented here for the years 1992-2024 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. Edison/Voter News Service did not conduct national exit polls prior to 1992. All CBS/New York Times exit poll data from 1980, 1984, and 1988 is archived at Cornell University’s Roper Center. From 1980 to 1988 major media outlets conducted separate exit polls. While not presented here, exit polls conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed gender gaps of similar magnitude to those evident in the CBS/New York Times polls. In 2020, for the first time in nearly two decades, major media outlets relied on more than one election survey to analyze voter behavior in the presidential election: Edison Research’s national exit poll and the Associated Press’ VoteCast (conducted by NORC). In light of differences between these surveys and their sampling limitations, CAWP’s analyses of gender and voting behavior since 2020 consider trends across these surveys and findings from BSP Research (formerly Latino Decisions), recognized for its more sophisticated and robust sampling of racial minority voters and a methodology that includes greater respondent access to multi-lingual surveys than the Edison exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study (CES).