exploring voter participation + demographics at the precinct level
Voter participation in local elections varies across the city. Understanding these geographic patterns in voter participation – paired with information about Portland’s demographic trends – can help the city design targeted, effective voter education strategies to improve participation in future elections.
Below, we share some maps that demonstrate voter participation in last year’s mayoral and city council races (Portland’s first ranked-choice voting elections). A separate map depicts where white Portlanders and Portlanders of color live throughout the city.
Before exploring these maps, it’s important to keep in mind that correlation does not imply causation – meaning that the reason for high or low voter participation is not likely due to any given community’s demographic makeup. A variety of factors influence voter participation in each precinct. However, understanding demographic context can help us develop culturally appropriate voter education materials.
A couple high level observations:
Voter participation varies dramatically across Portland. In some precincts, only 25% of voters cast a vote in Portland’s City Council race last year. In others, nearly 80% of residents did. Even within districts, voter participation varied by as much as 30 percentage points.
Voter participation in the mayoral and city council races was significantly lower in District 1 – the most racially diverse district in the City – than in the other three districts. The City should invest significantly more voter education materials here.
Voter participation is highest in the Central City and adjacent voting precincts. These precincts also tend to have fewer residents of color.
While Portland has much lower racial segregation than other cities in the U.S, racial demographics do vary significantly across the city – in some precincts, as low as 18% of residents are people of color. In others, more than half of residents are people of color.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for some district-specific details. We hope to include other demographic maps, such as income and education level, in the future.
District 1:
Northern precincts participated at a higher rate than precincts in outer Southeast Portland (note: while precincts 4406 and 4407 in the northern part of the district also show relatively low voter participation, these are industrial areas with very few registered voters).
The highest rate of voter participation in District 1 was in precinct 4706 (52.3% city council / 58.9% mayor). Voters in nearby precincts (4509 , 4508 , 4705 , and 4702) participated at similar rates.
Precinct 4805 was among the precincts with the lowest rates of voter participation (23.47% city council / 28% mayor) in the city. This small precinct is in the Centennial neighborhood at SE Division & SE 145th Ave. Of the 67% of residents in this precinct who are people of color, half are Latin@.
Precincts 4708 and 4802 may be particularly interesting from a voter education perspective. Each of these precincts has both relatively low participation rates and relatively high numbers of registered voters. If a goal of the city’s voter education efforts is to encourage more voters to participate in local elections, these precincts could be fruitful areas to invest in.
District 2:
Voter participation in highest in the southern part of District 2, in precincts closer to the Central City. Precincts further north, outside of the Central City saw lower participation rates.
The highest rate of voter participation in District 2 was in precinct 4501 (77.1% city council / 82.5% mayor).
The lowest rate of voter participation in District 2 was in precinct 4406 (49.9% city council / 55.9% mayor).
District 3:
Voter participation was more uniform in District 3 as compared to the other districts.
The highest rates of voter participation in District 3 were in precinct 4207 and precinct 4208 (~ 75% city council / 82% mayor).
The lowest rate of voter participation in District 3 was in precinct 4507: (42.3% city council / 49.5% mayor).
District 4:
District 4 is the least racially diverse district in the city.
The highest rate of voter participation in District 4 was in precinct 4101 (79.9% city council / 87.8% mayor).
The lowest rate of voter participation in District 4 was in precinct 3806 (48.4% city council / 55.3% mayor).
