Starters Jonathan Milner Starters Jonathan Milner

What state has the highest percentage of registered voters?

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. According to the data from the visual above, what state has the highest percentage of its voting-age citizens registered to vote?

  2. According to the data from the visual above, what state has the lowest percentage of its voting-age citizens registered to vote?

  3. One pattern I see in the data is the states that begin with the letter M do pretty well in getting their people registered to vote, and that my beloved Tar Heel state (North Carolina) is doing a sucky job of registration. Why do you think some states do so great and other states do so poorly in voter registration?

  4. Explain why the date from the map above only measures the percentage of citizens who are registered to vote but doesn’t include the percentage of non-citizens who are registered to vote?

  5. Not only does Oregon have the highest voter registration rate it also currently has the highest rates of voter turnout in the entire country. They also currently have the second ranked football team in the USA - Go Ducks! Two factors political scientists point to in their high voting turnout rate are the state’s vote by mail system (everyone in Oregon votes by mail!) and the “motor voter” law that automatically registers people to vote when they get their driver’s license. Who gets to make decisions about the voter registration and voting system that states have?

  6. I’m still mad at my great state of North Carolina. You can do better than this, fellow-citizens! According to the visuals below* what state has the highest percentage of voters registered Republican, and what state or territory has the highest percentage of voters registered Democratic?

  7. What other information that is not included in the visuals above and below would you need to make a prediction about the outcome of the 2024 presidential election?

  8. There is a lot of misinformation out there about voter registration and voting. Michigan U.S. House candidate Tom Barrett is facing a potential investigation from the attorney general of Michigan after his campaign printed the wrong election date in a Black-owned Lansing newspaper called The New Michigan Bulletin. The ad claims election day is Nov. 6 when it’s actually Nov. 5. This is an old voter suppression tactic. How much do you think misinformation and voter suppression efforts will impact the outcome of the 2024 election.

  9. Based on the data above, a student named Booyah said that some states really want their people to vote and others don’t. How would you respond to Booyah’s claim.

  10. There are over 5 million registered Republicans in California - that’s more than the total number of voters in Massachusetts. Make a claim about why all these Republican California voters don’t really matter in the presidential election.

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Automatic voter registration has increased voter registration dramatically, and is a policy currently in about half of states. Despite its name, AVR is not exactly automatic. How it typically works is when someone is getting a driver's license they are registered to vote using the information they gave the DMV. Get in touch with the stupid state or territorial governors and your awful state and territorial legislators and get them to make the registration process easier.

Get Creative

If you wanted your state to have a higher voter registration rate than Oregon - (quack quack) what incentives could you offer the people of your state to get them to register?

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