Most Election Jurisdictions Have Small Populations

Article Read time:
Projects: Election Initiatives
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. 

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Election administration
Projects
Election Initiatives
Places
United States

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A student sitting at a table at the end of a library stack.

Article

October 11, 2023 Restart of Student Loan Payments Could Hurt State Economies

Article

September 25, 2023 More Federal Funding Needed to Improve Drinking Water
A person in wader boots stands in shallow water with partially submerged vegetation and dips a yellow ruler into the water. Bushes and a blue sky with clouds fill in the background.

Issue Brief

December 4, 2023 How States Can Develop Blue Carbon Programs

MORE FROM PEW

Rain pours down on a fishing vessel at sea, while waves splash the deck. Fishers in orange and red rain jackets work to secure buckets and green fishing nets. How the Cape Town Agreement Can Improve Fisher Safety
A person in wader boots stands in shallow water with partially submerged vegetation and dips a yellow ruler into the water. Bushes and a blue sky with clouds fill in the background. How States Can Develop Blue Carbon Programs
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and ship approach two wind turbines in clear ocean waters under sunny blue skies. At COP28 Climate Summit, Local Leaders Take Center Stage
Getty Images Small Businesses in PA Support State Retirement Savings
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.