2020 Election Saw Rise in Muslim Voter Turnout

The number of Muslim-American voters rose in the 2020 election to almost 1.1 million, or about 71% of registered Muslim voters in the country, according to a recent report.

The Muslim-American civic group Emgage conducted an analysis of the 2020 election and found that turnout among registered Muslim voters rose by 2 percentage points since 2016 and was 4 percentage points higher than the nationwide average in 2020.

In a dozen states where the group worked to help Muslim Americans vote, the number of registered voters in the demographic rose by 27%.

"This effort contributed to 1,086,087 million (71%) registered Muslim voters casting a ballot, 2 percentage points over the 2016 turnout," the report reads. "Of the 1.5 million registered Muslim voters in 2020, 52% (779,793 million) voted early or via absentee ballots."

The report notes that despite the relatively small number of Muslim Americans in the country, their votes made a significant difference in the recent election. In Georgia, where President Joe Biden won by just under 12,000 votes, more than 61,000 Muslims cast a ballot. More than 125,000 Muslim Americans voted in Pennsylvania, a state that Biden won by about 81,000 votes.

Mohamed Gula, the national organizing director at Emgage, told Politico that the growth in turnout was "all about the conversations that were being had — it’s the belief that we are a part of the American fabric."

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