Most Election Jurisdictions Have Small Populations

Article
Projects: Election Initiatives Tags: Election administration Read time:
Share
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Print
Most Election Jurisdictions Have Small Populations

Return to Election Data Dispatches.

Recent data confirm previous research showing that most election jurisdictions have a relatively small electorate.

According to information from Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services Inc., there are 10,072 election jurisdictions in the United States:

  • 5,312 of these are small, township-level jurisdictions in three Midwestern states: Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
  • Another 1,620 are townships in four New England states: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
  • The remaining 3,140 local election jurisdictions are counties in states across the country.

Two-thirds — 6,691 — of all election jurisdictions have less than 5,000 registered voters, while only 340 jurisdictions have more than 100,000 registered voters. The mean registered population of all jurisdictions is 1,492 voters. 

The front facade of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC.
ian-hutchinson-U8WfiRpsQ7Y-unsplash.jpg_master

Agenda for America

A collection of resources to help federal, state, and local decision-makers set an achievable agenda for all Americans
Quick View
ian-hutchinson-U8WfiRpsQ7Y-unsplash.jpg_master

Data-driven policymaking is not just a tool for finding new solutions for emerging challenges, it makes government more effective and better able to serve the public interest. In the coming months, President Joe Biden and the 117th Congress will tackle a number of environmental, health, public safety, and fiscal and economic issues—nearly all of them complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help solve specific, systemic problems in a nonpartisan fashion, Pew has compiled a series of briefings and recommendations based on our research, technical assistance, and advocacy work across America.

Lightbulbs
Lightbulbs

States of Innovation

Data-driven state policy innovations across America
Quick View
Lightbulbs

Data-driven policymaking is not just a tool for finding new solutions for difficult challenges. When states serve their traditional role as laboratories of innovation, they increase the American people’s confidence that the government they choose—no matter the size—can be effective, responsive, and in the public interest.

RELATED
Tags
Election administration
Projects
Election Initiatives
Places
United States

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Congressional hearing

Article

April 16, 2021 How to Improve Public Safety and Save Taxpayers Money
Person typing on a laptop next to a phone on a table

Article

April 16, 2021 How Courts Seek to Protect Litigants' Personal Information
Healthcare worker with face shield

Article

April 15, 2021 Progress on Health IT Data-Sharing and Better Patient Care

MORE FROM PEW

Colorful coral reef marine protection Protect 18 Million Square Kilometers of Ocean
Waya island How Much Do You Know About Our Ocean?
Rotunda at the Pennsylvania Capitol Harrisburg Keystone Saves and Retirement Security in Pennsylvania
Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmation hearing How to Improve Public Safety and Save Taxpayers Money