What does this measure?
The percentage of the voting-age population (18 and over) that is registered to vote.
Why is this important?
Voting is a basic right of all citizens. Registration indicates the citizenry's interest, commitment and belief in the value of participating in our political process.
How does our county compare?
In 2023, 80% of voting-age Lancaster County residents were registered to vote, less than the 84% in Pennsylvania as a whole. The county's voter registration rate decreased 1 percentage points from 2010.
All neighboring counties, except for Berks County (77%), had a higher voter registration rate in 2023 than Lancaster. Rates were higher in Chester (88%), Cumberland (82%), Dauphin (85%), Lebanon (81%) and York (85%). All counties saw a decline in registration from 2020. Compared to 2010, most counties stayed the same or saw an increase in registration except Lancaster, Berks, and Dauphin counties.
Notes about the data
Comparable national data is not available.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 85% | 82% | 85% | 82% | 82% | 80% | 86% | 83% | 84% | 84% | 89% | 84% | 84% | 84% |
| Lancaster County | 81% | 76% | 79% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 82% | 78% | 80% | 78% | 84% | 69% | 80% | 80% |
| Berks County | 80% | 76% | 79% | 78% | 77% | 75% | 81% | 77% | 76% | 77% | 83% | 79% | 77% | 77% |
| Chester County | 88% | 84% | 88% | 86% | 86% | 82% | 89% | 87% | 89% | 86% | 93% | 89% | 90% | 88% |
| Cumberland County | 80% | 81% | 83% | 77% | 78% | 78% | 85% | 84% | 86% | 87% | 92% | 87% | 82% | 82% |
| Dauphin County | 92% | 83% | 86% | 83% | 84% | 83% | 89% | 85% | 84% | 85% | 91% | 85% | 84% | 85% |
| Lebanon County | 81% | 76% | 78% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 81% | 78% | 79% | 78% | 84% | 81% | 82% | 81% |
| York County | 80% | 80% | 83% | 79% | 80% | 79% | 86% | 86% | 88% | 81% | 88% | 85% | 86% | 85% |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 8,478,509 | 8,168,254 | 8,508,015 | 8,223,473 | 8,251,050 | 8,073,175 | 8,722,977 | 8,435,015 | 8,549,048 | 8,530,983 | 9,090,962 | 8,676,127 | 8,700,826 | 8,661,186 |
| Lancaster County | 317,635 | 301,562 | 314,567 | 307,481 | 311,498 | 309,581 | 335,791 | 320,884 | 330,605 | 325,296 | 354,296 | 293,110 | 344,615 | 346,286 |
| Berks County | 252,248 | 240,843 | 250,356 | 247,453 | 246,433 | 240,766 | 259,800 | 249,788 | 248,719 | 252,188 | 272,244 | 264,437 | 258,608 | 261,691 |
| Chester County | 332,031 | 320,604 | 337,822 | 331,893 | 335,581 | 325,158 | 354,459 | 346,137 | 358,230 | 351,925 | 380,357 | 372,842 | 383,136 | 377,612 |
| Cumberland County | 150,533 | 152,255 | 158,194 | 148,322 | 151,051 | 153,481 | 166,965 | 167,632 | 173,379 | 175,047 | 187,257 | 183,070 | 174,661 | 177,519 |
| Dauphin County | 189,520 | 172,057 | 178,924 | 174,690 | 176,358 | 174,991 | 190,301 | 181,584 | 180,924 | 184,050 | 197,820 | 190,406 | 189,157 | 192,067 |
| Lebanon County | 83,838 | 78,909 | 81,476 | 80,026 | 80,717 | 80,183 | 86,878 | 84,092 | 85,883 | 85,222 | 92,641 | 90,423 | 91,785 | 91,164 |
| York County | 268,108 | 269,098 | 280,280 | 268,268 | 272,227 | 270,366 | 295,895 | 299,428 | 306,764 | 284,891 | 311,108 | 305,558 | 311,510 | 309,506 |
