Voting
See highest and lowest voter turnout areas in Charlotte
Ads have been running for months, streets are blanketed with yard signs and North Carolinians have cast early ballots, but with Super Tuesday this week, the presidential election officially kicks into high gear locally. In addition to being a swing state, the national spotlight will be on North Carolina — and Charlotte — for several […]
How can more people be inspired to civic involvement?
What motivates Charlotteans to vote? Volunteer? Hold political conversations or attend events? The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Johnson C. Smith University, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Google, have spent the past 11 months studying civic engagement in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The project, “Charting the Civic Landscape […]
Older voters outmuscle younger ones in election clout
With early voting underway in a presidential election that has seemed to last forever, it’s worth remembering local elections are also on the ballot, even if they draw far less attention. And in Charlotte’s recent local election, 2015, older voters punched far above their weight. MORE ABOUT VOTING MORE CHARLOTTE DATA MORE NATIONAL DATA In […]
Voters born elsewhere make up nearly half of N.C. electorate
One hundred years ago, when North Carolina had a population of about 2.5 million people, more than nine out of 10 residents were native Tar Heels. Today’s North Carolina, in contrast, approaches a population of 10 million, with more than 4 million residents born in another state or country. Population growth and change have had […]
Will optimism on economy continue post-election?
For at least the last 50 years, polling organizations have been using two simple questions to get respondents to describe how the last year treated them from an economic viewpoint and how they think the next one will be: Compared to this time last year, would you say your current economic situation is better, about […]
N.C.’s ‘big 15’ counties show urban heft in a changing state
Over the past four decades, North Carolina has grown from a state of 5.08 million to 9.54 million people. Along with that near-doubling in population has come a decisive shift in the state’s societal landscape. Once a spread-out state of small farms, small factories and small cities and towns, it is increasingly defined and driven […]