What does this measure?
The percentage of the voting-age population (18 and over) that is registered to vote.
Why is this important?
Voter registration is a gauge of interest and participation in the political process.
How is our region performing?
Between 79% and 85% of the region's voting-age population has been registered to vote since 2000, consistently higher than statewide rates. Similar to national trends, voter registration in our region increased for the 2008 Presidential election between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, with 83% of residents registering to vote. But the region's peak was actually in 2004, when 85% of residents were registered to vote. In 2009, the rate in Monroe County at 83% was higher than the rate across surrounding counties of 80%.
Notes about the data
Comparable national data were not available.