What’s measured This study looks at the percentage of registered voters who voted in election years 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006, using data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections and the South Carolina State Board of Elections. Why it’s measured Measuring turnout of registered voters provides information about the political engagement of citizens. High levels of voter turnout suggest that citizens are interested in political campaigns and want to participate in the selection of their representatives. Historically, voter turnout is higher in years including a U.S. presidential election, and so the indicator examines both presidential and non-presidential election years. Indicator results In the last presidential election year (2004), turnout among registered voters in the region was 65.3 percent. This was higher than North Carolina’s turnout (64.0), but lower than South Carolina’s turnout (70.5 percent). As expected, voter turnout was lower in non-presidential election years. In 2002, voter turnout in the region was 45.7 percent, and in 2006, it was 37.0 percent. In both years, turnout in the region was lower than turnout in either North Carolina or South Carolina as a whole. Within the region, the county with the highest voter turnout is, by far, Chester County, with 91.1 percent turnout in 2004 and 67.2 percent in 2006. Other counties with relatively high turnout include Lancaster (70.7 percent in 2004, 44.8 percent in 2006), Lincoln (67.7 in 2004, 42.0 in 2006), Stanly (71.5 in 2004, 43.4 in 2006) and York (71.2 in 2004, 46.6 in 2006). With data from just four years (two presidential elections and two off-year elections), it is difficult to identify trends. Evaluation Voter turnout in the region is below turnout figures for either North Carolina or South Carolina; although, the region’s turnout numbers are not far below North Carolina’s turnout rate. Among the counties, there is some variation in voter-turnout rates. Typically the more rural counties have higher voter turnout than the more urban counties. With regard to trends, turnout was higher in 2004 than 2000 (both years with presidential elections), but turnout was lower in 2006 than 2002. Thus, it is not clear from the numbers whether voter turnout in the region is increasing or decreasing, but one might speculate that voter turnout will fall as the region’s population becomes more concentrated in urban areas. Connections Voter turnout has important connections to other measures of citizen involvement. High voter turnout suggests that citizens have a high level of interest in participating in the political process. Lower voter turnout suggests that residents do not feel as much a part of the political process, which is an important measure of community involvement. Low voter turnout may also increase the influence of special interests and groups with more extreme views, with less strongly-motivated citizens staying away from the polls.
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