by Andrew Walden
US Census figures released May 8 show that Hawaii has the lowest percentage of citizen population registered to vote and the second lowest percentage of eligible voter turnout. West Virginia, which like Hawaii had no real competition in the Presidential race, was the only state with a lower percentage of eligible voters turning out. Utah, which like Hawaii is dominated by a single political party, had the second-lowest percentage of registered voters. The complete state-by-state stats may be seen here: LINK. Other detailed tables on voter participation may be seen here: LINK.
Public commentary on Hawaii's poor voter participation focuses on making voting easier--procedures which almost always entail opening the door to greater voter fraud. But clearly the nationwide figures show that lack of political competition drives low voter turnout. Hawaii will improve voter participation when Hawaii has a politically competitive two party system.
| Table 4a. Reported Voting and Registration of the Citizen Voting-Age Population, for States: November 2012 (in thousands) |
| STATE |
Total Population |
Total Citizen Population |
Registered |
Voted |
| Total registered |
Percent registered
(Total) |
Margin of Error 1 |
Percent registered
(Citizen) |
Margin of Error |
Total voted |
Percent voted
(Total) |
Margin of Error |
Percent voted
(Citizen) |
Margin of Error |
| UNITED STATES |
235,248 |
215,081 |
153,157 |
65.1 |
0.3 |
71.2 |
0.3 |
132,948 |
56.5 |
0.3 |
61.8 |
0.3 |
|
HAWAII
|
1,013 |
930 |
547 |
54.1
|
2.4 |
58.9 |
2.5 |
480 |
47.4 |
2.4 |
51.6 |
2.6 |
|
UTAH
|
1,917 |
1,793 |
1,138 |
59.4 |
2.3 |
63.5 |
2.4 |
1,022 |
53.3 |
2.4 |
57.0 |
2.4 |
|
WEST VIRGINIA
|
1,452 |
1,442 |
982 |
67.6 |
2.2 |
68.1 |
2.2 |
690 |
47.5 |
2.4 |
47.8 |
2.4 |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, November 2012 |
| 1 This figure added to or subtracted from the estimate provides the 90-percent confidence interval. |
|
| * * * * * |
Latest US Census Releases
Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2012
Voting Hot Report 1996-2010
Historical Voting Visualizations
Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010
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