Percentages may change over the course of the night.
CBS News national exit polls tell us who voted, what issues were on their minds, whether they voted for Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election — and why.
“Infrequent voters”
Taking a look at what some call “infrequent voters,” nationally, roughly 1 in 10 voters say they did not vote in the presidential election in 2020. These voters are divided between Harris and Trump nationwide.
We see some differences in some key states: Trump has the edge with this group in Michigan, while Harris has the edge in Wisconsin.
Younger and older voters in Michigan
There’s bit of a reversal from 2020 as it relates to age in Michigan. Younger voters (age 18-29) are narrowly going for Trump right now. President Biden won the support of 61% of voters 18-29 in 2020.
This deficit for Harris is in large part to younger men in Michigan who are more for Trump.
But Harris is doing better with older voters, those ages 65 and over. This group that was more divided in 2020.
Older voters make up a larger share of the electorate than young people do.
Gender gap similar to 2020
Nationally, we see a gender gap that is similar to what we saw in 2020.
Men are breaking for Trump and women are breaking for Harris – these margins are similar to 2020.
Women are making up 53% of the vote, while men are 47%. In 2020, the break was 52% women and 48% men.
Trump made an appeal to younger men, and men ages 18 to 29 – are currently divided in their support – a group Joe Biden won by 11 points in 2020.
Harris has a big lead among young women under 30, in line with Mr. Biden’s lead in 2020.
Most North Carolina voters decided on their candidates long ago.
A small number of voters — just 5% of North Carolina voters right now — made up their minds in the last week. These voters are going for Harris, exit polls show.
Voters who decided earlier in the campaign are more toward Trump.
Black voters and White voters in Georgia
In Georgia, Black voters are making up a similar share of the electorate as they did in 2020 — 30% of voters are Black.
Harris is getting the support of 86% of Black voters in the state, currently just a bit lower than what Biden got in 88%. She is doing a better with Black women than with Black men, just as Joe Biden did in 2020.
Trump is maintaining his support among White voters in Georgia, and doing particularly well with White voters without a college degree.
Nationally, Harris voters more confident the election will be conducted fairly than Trump voters
Early exit polls show the state of democracy and the economy are the top issues for 2024 voters.
The economy is the top issue for Trump voters, followed by immigration. And democracy is the top concern for the Harris voters, followed by abortion — echoing some of the themes we’ve seen throughout the campaign.
Most on each side are scared, not just concerned, if the other side wins, and while most voters express confidence this election is being conducted fairly and accurately, Harris voters are more confident than Trump voters are.
About 7 in 10 voters (majorities on both sides) expect there to be violence related to the results of the presidential election.
This is the first time in its history – going back to the 1970s – that the exit poll has asked voters about the prospect of violence as it relates specifically to a U.S. presidential election.
There is discontent with the state of the country — roughly 7 in 10 are dissatisfied or angry about the way things are going — something that has long been the case. While this would not be a particularly favorable environment for an incumbent party, we saw a similar level of discontent during the 2022 midterms with a competitive race for control of Congress.
Voters’ views of the nation’s economy are more negative than they were in 2020 — despite the nation being in the throes of the COVID pandemic at the time. Trump voters overwhelmingly view today’s economy as negative, while more Harris voters think it is in good shape.
On the question of whether you are better off than you were four years ago, nationally and across the battlegrounds, more voters say they are financially worse off than better.
The issue of abortion and gender
This is the first presidential election in post-Roe America and most voters want abortion mostly legal. We see this nationally and across the battleground states.
Although current exit polls show that abortion does not rise to be a top issue for voters. Among women nationally, democracy and the economy do outrank the issue of abortion.
Candidate qualities: What were voters looking for?
The ability to lead was the quality voters were most looking for, followed by good judgment, someone who can bring needed change, and someone who cares about them.
Most made up their minds long ago, but a few decided late
These early exit polls show that a big majority of voters decided on their candidate long ago — roughly 8 in 10 before September.
A smaller number of voters decided in the last week — currently in the single digits. More of these voters identify as independent than with either political party. And they tend to be a bit younger than the electorate overall.
They profile similarly to “infrequent voters ” — those who did not vote in 2020. About 1 in 10 voters in this electorate report having not voted in 2020.
CBS News exit polls are surveys of thousands of voters across the country, including in-person interviews with Election Day voters, interviews with early voters at early voting locations and phone interviews are conducted to measure the views of those who cast their votes by mail. The surveys were conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool.