Is There A Census For Registered Voters

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is administered by the U.Southward. Census Bureau and samples households across all 50 states and the District of Columbia on a monthly basis. Every 2 years—in Nov, following federal elections—the CPS asks supplementary questions well-nigh voting and voter registration. The voting-focused supplement asks household respondents if they are registered to vote and whether they voted in the November full general election.

Post-obit each full general election, the Ballot Help Committee (EAC) conducts the Election Assistants and Voting Survey for all 50 states plus the Commune of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. This survey contains data on voter turnout, including total votes bandage and number of registered voters per land, provided past statewide ballot government.

Many voter participation initiatives and analyses rely on CPS data, specially for registration statistics, and local leaders depend on information technology to gauge the civic wellness of their communities. In this cursory, NLC compares data from the CPS' voting supplements for 2016 and 2020 with data from land-level agencies in order to determine how well the Census Bureau'southward survey estimates aligned with certified results:

Taking into business relationship taking the survey estimates' margins of error, we find that 31 states showed an increase in total votes from 2016 to 2020, while 20 states showed an increase in voter registration. The remaining states' estimates have inconclusive results that cannot be directly compared, reflecting survey results that fall outside the margins of error.
Nosotros notice that factors including depression survey coverage and responses, survey methodology, or inaccurate survey responses may impact the results.
We conclude that CPS survey data is non an authentic reflection of voter registration or turnout, but caution against misinterpreting this to mean that CPS data is fraudulent or invalid.

Download the brief for suggestions on how local leaders can better understand what barriers be to voter registration and voter participation in their communities and recommendations for more than standardized, transparent data on voting and elections.