Michigan Voter Registration

FairVote2020 has developed an interactive map showing voter registration rates in Michigan communities and neighborhoods as of the spring of 2004. Boundaries for the thematic display are based on census block groups rather than precinct lines because there is no publicly available statewide geographic precinct database.

Zooming in to a scale of about five miles, you will see the estimated number of unregistered or inactive voters (by block group) displayed in purple boxes.

You can view socioeconomic themes -- race, ethnicity, income, access to vehicles, etc. -- for these neighborhood areas by selecting maps from the drop-down menu under "Compare Maps" on the left. These maps also show block group-level detail, providing an exact boundary match to the voter registration data.

New 2/05 -- Bush-Kerry by county and township/city.

Below the links to the interactive maps is a link to a directory with 1,550 maps in Adobe format -- printer-ready and PDA compatible. These maps show street-level detail for areas in 41 counties with high numbers of unregistered or inactive voters. Over 685,000 unregistered or inactive voters live in these areas -- defined by populations that are 30% or more below poverty or 30% or more minority voting age.

There is also a link to Adobe maps showing neighborhood registration rates for about 80 Michigan localities with populations greater than 15,000.

NOT COMPATIBLE WITH FIREFOX 1.5 (click for details).

Unregistered or inactive 18+ in 2004 ( neighborhood-level block groups as proxy precincts)\

Zoom to:
Flint
Lansing
Wayne County

Google-FairData Base Map (start with a Google map interface) new 8/05

To maximize the viewable area, toggle off the history folder. Map links can be e-mailed or bookmarked for future reference. Use the arrow buttons on your browser to compare previously viewed maps. Try Windows NetMeeting for group sessions. Click the HELP icon for additional assistance.

Map 1 (default map) -- Unregistered or Inactive Voting Age Population in 2004

At a scale of about 5 miles, the estimated number of voting age persons (by block group) who are unregistered or inactive is displayed in purple boxes. When you click on ZOOM TO and then click on the map -- voter registration and demographic data for the block group selected will appear in a table below the map. Click on INFO and then click on the map for more detailed data.

At a scale of about 3 miles, green labels showing the block group numbers can be displayed by checking the box next to "BG FIPS code" below the map image. (The five digit state-county portion of the number, e.g. "26049" is not shown in the map -- 26 is for Michigan and 049 indicates Genesse County -- but is displayed using the INFO button and must be entered for searches based on the block group code using FIND. )

Precincts in effect in 2000 (called VTDs) can be identified by clicking on INFO and then on the map. The precinct number is the last item in the pop-up window.

This map is based on a February 2004 statewide registered voter file with 6.8 million names. Approximately 98% of the addresses are geocoded. For the map theme, we eliminated from the registered count anyone who had not voted for the previous six years or who was identified as inactive in the voter file. This reduces the statewide active registered voter count to 4.46 million persons Census Bureau survey estimates show 5.0 million registered voters in 2000 (see link below) -- with 4..34 million casting ballots in 2000 .

Blank areas on the map depict areas where the geocoding was faulty or voter data was incomplete.

Sources: Census 2000, Michigan Secretary of State, E-Merges http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-542/tab04a.xls

Maps 2 thru 17 -- Block-Group Socio-Economic Detail Maps

See SocioEcon mapper for map details.

Sources: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data and SF 3 Sample Data

Map 18 Statewide Focus Areas

See also Adobe maps below. This map displays neighborhoods and communities with 30% minority voting age population or 30% or more persons below poverty and an estimated 200 or more unregistered or inactive voters.. Statewide there are about 1,550 block groups falling into one or both categories.

Street-level printer-ready, PDA compatible detail maps can be downloaded by clicking on the INFO button and then on the precinct of interest. Next select "Focus Areas" and select the Adobe map link from the lower half of the pop-up window. Right click and select Save Target As or Open in New Window)

Batch downloads for the Adobe files organized by county, zip code, city, and block group can be accessed via this directory:

http://fairplan.u31.infinology.net/MichiganAccess/Maps/FocusAreas/

Click here for a map-linked spreadsheet bridging between the Adobe maps and the interactive map (with built-in sorting features) -- Also located at the top of the above directory -- Try the Greensboro, NC tutorial developed with our client Democracy South , but note that in Michigan there is no information on the race or ethnicity of the voter.

Map 19 -- Bush-Kerry by County (Head-to-Head Contest)

At a scale of about 200 miles, green labels show votes cast for the two major party candidates by county.

This map does not display election returns below the county level.

Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections, 12/03/04.

Map 20 - Bush-Kerry by Township/City (Head-to-Head Contest)

Source: Michigan Secretary of State

Map 21 -- Party Affiliation (State Senate) 2007

Map 22 -- Party Affiliation (State House) 2007

Map 23 -- Party Affiliation (Congress) 2007

High Detail "Zoomable"-- Adobe format -)

These maps are set to print at 11" by 17" but will print to smaller or larger page sizes.

Click on the links below to see the index of maps, then click on the file name. It will take a few moments for the file to load into the Acrobat reader, depending upon the speed of your internet connection. To save and then view a map file (the best method for accessing these files), right click on the file name, then choose 'Save Target As' (Internet Explorer) or 'Save Link As' (Netscape). Files range from 50k to 500k in size.

Statewide Focus Areas (1,550 maps)

These street-level maps show neighborhoods and communities with populations that are 30% or more minority voting age or 30% or more below poverty, according to the 2000 census, with at least 200 or more estimated unregistered or inactive voters. Over 685,000 unregistered or inactive voters reside in these areas, representing about 56% of the resident 1.22 million persons of voting age in the focus areas. There are focus areas in 41 of Michigan's 83 counties.

White numbers overlaying dots show estimated unregistered or inactive voters by census block. These dots are color-coded to show race/ethnicity components for the over 18 population residing in the census block.

The files are organized by county, zip code, city, and block group number.

Religious Congregations, Parks & Schools in Focus Areas

Adobe file
zipped Excel Spreadsheet
Michigan cities with populations over 15,000 (82)

Community-wide maps

Birds-eye view of neighborhood-level registration rates. These maps can be used for orientation purposes with the "focus area" block-level maps above. The numbers displayed in purple boxes show unregistered or inactive voters and will match the unregistered voter count in the footer portion of the block-level "focus area" maps.