Wisconsin Votes: Civic Engagement in the Badger State, 2002-2006 examines changes in Wisconsin’s population and rates of electoral participation between 2002 and 2006, and then compares them to the United States as a whole. The report’s major focal points include rates of eligibility, registration and turnout by race or ethnicity, income and age.

This report is organized by the three major cross-sections of the electorate: race or ethnicity, income and age. First, we describe the size and demographic composition of Wisconsin’s overall population and voting-eligible population. We then present characteristics of the registered population and conclude by describing some of the disparities in the composition of the voting populations.

The data show that those Wisconsinites who are White, those who are older and those who are more affluent are overrepresented in both the population that is registered to vote and the population that votes, while Wisconsinites of color, who are are under 30 or who earn less than $25,000 a year are underrepresented.

Download the Full Report: Wisconsin Votes: Civic Engagement in the Badger State, 2002-2006. Benjamin Spears. June 2008.

Summary Table: Percent of Wisconsin Population Eligible to Vote, Voting and Not Voting, by Demographic Characteristics, 2006.

Figure 1: Wisconsin Racial/Ethnic Composition of Voting-Eligible Population, Registered Voters and Voters, 2006.

Figure 2: Wisconsin Income Composition of Voting-Eligible Population and Electorate, 2006.

Figure 3: Wisconsin Age Composition of Voting-Eligible Population, Registered Voters and Voters, 2006.