Voter participation provides a way to understand a community’s political engagement. Differences between places can highlight differing access to engagement opportunities. The ability to participate in civic processes ensures fair representation and adequate access to services and resources, all of which influence a population’s connection to their community.
This indicator uses voting data from the Washington Office of Secretary of State for presidential general election years, and Census population estimates of adults 18 years and older. The voter participation estimates require a transformation of the voting data from precincts to tracts, an imperfect process, and do not account for differences between the count of voters and population (e.g., college students and military members who may be registered to vote in one place but physically live elsewhere).
Go to: Voter Participation Map | Voter Participation Now | Voter Participation Trend
Voter Participation Map
Number of ballots cast/adult population (18 years and older)
Source(s): Washington Office of Secretary of State 2024 general election data; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates; U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Insights & Analysis
- Kitsap County has the highest rate of voter participation (69%), followed by Snohomish (62%), Pierce (60%), and King (59%).
- There are six census tracts that have voter participation rates of 95% or higher - these include two neighborhoods on Bainbridge Island in Kitsap County, one neighborhood in Artondale in Pierce County, and three neighborhoods in Seattle in King County: Broadiew, Briarcliff and Magnolia, and Arroyo Heights and Arroyo Beach.
- The census tracts that have the lowest voter participation rates in the region are in areas with high concentrations of college students and military members - around the UW campus in Seattle, surrounding Joint Base Lewis-McChord (including Fort Lewis and North Fort Lewis), Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and Bangor Base. These populations are less likely to be registered as voters of Washington state.
- Of the areas that are not predominantly military or college students, the census tracts with the lowest voter participation rates include three neighborhoods in King County: Seattle Center and South Lake Union, Federal Way, and Kent, and one neighborhood in Snohomish County: spanning Monroe and unincorporated Snohomish County.
Voter Participation Now
Source(s): Washington Office of Secretary of State 2024 general election data; U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B02001, C17002, B22010, B11005, B11007, C16002
Note 1: Horizontal axis (low, medium, high) denotes concentrations of each community. See, "How is equity measured?" for more information.
Note 2: For Households with Limited English Proficiency, the low and low medium categories have the same value in Kitsap and Pierce counties. There are more census tracts in those places estimated to have 0 households with limited English proficiency than the number of tracts in the low quintile category. The values for the low and low medium categories were averaged.
Insights & Analysis
- Communities with higher concentrations of people of color have lower voter participation rates than those with lower concentrations - the largest difference is in King County (38 percentage points).
- For communities with high concentrations of households who are below 200% of the poverty level, voter participation rates are highest in Kitsap County (53%), followed by Snohomish (50%), King (42%), and Pierce County (38%).
- Voter participation is lower in communities with higher concentrations of households with limited English proficiency compared to communities with lower concentrations. King County has the highest difference (30 percentage points), while Kitsap County has the smallest difference (8 percentage points).
- In contrast to the other equity communities, those with higher concentrations of households with older adults have higher voter participation rates compared to those with lower concentrations. The largest differences are in Kitsap and Pierce counties where higher concentrations of households with older adults have higher voter participation rates by 30 and 28 percentage points, respectively. The differences are smaller in King and Snohomish counties - 20 and 17 percentage points, respectively.
Voter Participation Trend
Source(s): Washington Office of Secretary of State 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 general election data; U.S. Census Bureau, 2008-2012, 2012-2016, 2016-2020, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B02001, C17002, B22010, B11005, B11007, C16002
Note 1: Line categories (low, low-medium, etc.) denote concentrations of each community. See, "How is equity measured?" for more information.
Note 2: For Households with Limited English Proficiency, the low and low medium categories have the same value in Kitsap and Pierce counties. There are more census tracts in those places estimated to have 0 households with limited English proficiency than the number of tracts in the low quintile category. The values for the low and low medium categories were averaged.
Note 3: Data for households with limited English proficiency are only available starting in 2016.
Insights & Analysis
- Areas with higher concentrations of people of color have lower voter participation than areas with lower concentrations - a difference which has increased 13% between 2012 and 2024. The largest change was in Kitsap County (60%) and the smallest was in Snohomish County (9%).
- Communities with higher concentrations of households below 200% of the poverty line consistently had lower voter participation than communities with lower concentrations. Between 2012 and 2024, the voter participation gaps decreased in Snohomish County (7 percentage points) and slightly decreased in King (2 percentage points) and Kitsap (0.9 percentage points) counties. In Kitsap and Pierce counties the gap increased four and one percentage points, respectively.
- In 2024, communities with high concentrations of households with limited English proficiency had lower voter participation than communities with lower concentrations, a trend consistent with 2016. The difference between areas with high and low concentrations increased in Kitsap (100%), Snohomish (26%), and Pierce (16%) counties between 2016 and 2024. The difference decreased 3% in King County.
- Regionally, communities with higher concentrations of older households have higher voter participation than communities with lower concentrations - a difference which has increased 64%% between 2016 and 2024.