Election Anxiety in 2024: Voters Are No Better Off Than They Were in 2020
The 2024 Presidential election is fast approaching, and soon, millions of Americans will head to the polls to cast their votes for the nation's 47th president. However, the act of voting is far from being solely a display of patriotism and celebration; for many, election season is synonymous with heightened anxiety.
A survey from the Thriving Center of Psychology found that 72% of Americans are stressed about the upcoming election. While an American Psychiatric Association survey found that 43% of Americans feels more stressed this year than they did last, and 77% of those respondents blamed their stress on the upcoming election.
Surprisingly, the 2024 election season has already proven to be more stressful than the height of Election Day in 2020. In fact, this past summer, Americans self-reported higher levels of anxiety than they did on November 3, 2020, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which saw 37,000 deaths recorded in that single month
However, from June to July 2024, a barrage of political events—including the Trump-Biden debate, multiple Supreme Court decisions, an assassination attempt, and President Biden’s withdrawal from the race—stirred up unprecedented levels of political anxiety.
There appears to be an upward trend, with each election cycle making voters increasingly anxious compared to previous years. What does this mean for the future of democracy, when the fundamental right to vote leaves more than half of Americans feeling anxious?
At the height of the 2020 election, just over half (51%) of surveyed Americans reported experiencing anxiety.
By mid-summer 2024, nearly 54.5% of respondents reported feeling anxious for several days or more. As the November 2024 election approaches, Americans are likely to become even more anxious. Vanity Fair aptly dubbed this race 'the Anxiety Election' back in February 2024.
What makes this surprising is that a study from the University of Nevada found that levels of anxiety and depression steadily climbed leading up to the 2020 presidential election, with a peak occurring on and immediately after Election Day. The study concluded that elections have significant repercussions for the mental health of Americans. But in 2024 election anxiety has begun way before election day.
What’s the easiest way to deal with election anxiety? Getting old.
The above chart shows frequency in the Summer of 2020, from June 25 - July 22 2024. Voters aged 80- and above experienced significantly less anxiety.
The above chart shows the frequency at which voters reported feeling anxious from October 28 – November 9 2020.
Respondents aged 80 and above reported the lowest frequency of anxiety in both 2020 and 2024, by a significant margin.
Whereas, the young seem to always be more anxious.
In 2024, people aged 18 to 29 reported the highest frequency of anxiety, whereas in 2020, it was those aged 30 to 39. This suggests a generational shift, with younger individuals now reporting more anxiety than their older counterparts. This shift may reflect a broader acceptance of anxiety as a condition, particularly among younger people who are more comfortable with self-reporting.
In 2020, men reported lower levels of anxiety compared to women, but by the summer of 2024, this trend had reversed, with men reporting higher anxiety levels.
The public’s response to the events in 2020 and 2024 is evident in the keywords they searched on Google. Using Google Trends, which tracks the frequency of search terms over specific time periods, we observe that 'election anxiety' has already peaked in 2024.
The peaks in July occurred between the 14th and 20th, shortly after George Clooney's op-ed in The New York Times, which called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, and coincided with the Trump assassination attempt, culminating in Biden's withdrawal on July 21, 2024.
In contrast, in 2020, searches for 'election anxiety' began on October 25, peaked between November 1 and 7, and declined by November 15. Election Day was November 3, 2020.
Google Trends indicates that people’s self-reported feelings about the election correspond closely to their search behavior.
The Implications of Rising Election Anxiety in 2024
There’s a question we have to answer still: why have self-reports of anxiety in 2024 already been higher than on election day in 2020?
Anxiety Over Uncertainty:
One of the key drivers of anxiety in 2024 has been the overwhelming uncertainty surrounding the election. President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race, the assassination attempt on former President Trump, and a series of contentious Supreme Court rulings all contributed to a climate of unpredictability over the summer of 202. Now, at the beginning of Fall 2024, the election is just as contentious.
Voters feel increasingly unsure about the future, which has intensified stress and anxiety across the electorate.
Media Amplification of Anxiety:
In 2024, the media—especially social media—has shifted from simply reporting events to actively heightening public anxiety. News outlets and platforms constantly spotlight worst-case scenarios as a way to increase their viewership, especially the prospect of crises, and the high stakes of the election. This unrelenting flow of anxiety-driven content keeps the public in a state of heightened alert, fostering a widespread sense of fear and unease.
Personal Stakes and Fear of Consequences:
Compared to 2020, many voters in 2024 perceive the personal stakes as even higher. Concerns about potential shifts in healthcare, civil rights, and economic stability are driving a more intense, personal form of anxiety among voters.
Generational Anxiety and Social Pressure:
There has been a noticeable increase in anxiety among younger voters, particularly those aged 18 to 29, who report the highest levels of stress. This trend may be linked to the combined pressures of social media, economic instability, and concerns over climate change.
The growing openness around mental health discussions has also led to more individuals self-reporting anxiety, contributing to the higher observed levels.
Political Fatigue and Anxiety:
Years of political conflict have left many voters feeling politically fatigued, with their weariness extending beyond physical exhaustion to emotional and psychological stress. This fatigue is now manifesting as anxiety about the political process itself. Constant elections, scandals, and crises may leave voters feeling overwhelmed and helpless, further intensifying their anxiety.
The 2024 election has become a focal point for national anxiety, driven by uncertainty, media amplification, personal stakes, generational shifts, and political fatigue. This anxiety is not simply a byproduct of polarization; it has become a defining issue that mirrors the current state of American democracy. As the November election approaches, addressing this anxiety will be critical for fostering political engagement and protecting the mental well-being of the electorate.
Methodology:
We collected data from the Household Pulse Survey (HPS), a collaboration between the U.S. Census Bureau and federal agencies, and compared self-reports of anxiety across two two-week periods. The first was taken between October 14, 2020 and November 9, 2020, just before and after the election. The 2024 datapoint was taken between June 25, 2024 and July 22, 2024.
