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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did Pennsylvania’s largest cities have 98% voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election?

By Austin Tannenbaum
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NO

According to the 2020 census, Philadelphia’s voting age (18+) population is approximately 1.2 million. For the 2020 presidential election, the county’s official vote tally was 749,317 ballots. This suggests that about 62% of Philadelphia's voting age population cast a ballot. Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest county by population.

Also according to the 2020 census, Allegheny County’s voting age population is about 1 million. The county’s official vote tally was 724,800 ballots, suggesting about 72% of Allegheny’s voting age population cast a ballot. Allegheny, the state’s second most populous county, includes Pittsburgh.

Statewide, more than 6.9 million Pennsylvanians voted in the 2020 presidential election, translating to a voter turnout rate of 70.93% of eligible voters.

In the 2016 presidential election, Pennsylvania's voter turnout rate was 70.3%—a 0.6% difference from 2020.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
WHYY (Philadelphia) Nearly 750K votes later, Philly’s 2020 ballot counting is over
US Census QuickFacts: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County Allegheny County official results, 2020
US Census QuickFacts: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Pressroom Pennsylvania announces record turnout for Nov. 3 election
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.