2024 is shaping to be a supremely important election year, and all eyes are on the Presidential race. Providence, long a deep-sea-blue city, will almost certainly vote Democratic. Though the city as a whole has a fairly homogeneous party alignment, each ward differs greatly in other aspects. One of the most easily measurable metrics which differs greatly from ward to ward is voter turn-out. Voter turn-out can reflect many characteristics of a neighborhood’s residents – their income, age, race, citizenship status, student status, etc. While disparities in Providence’s voter turn-out may not matter significantly for the national race – it does greatly impact state and local races.
190,934 – total population of Providence counted in 2020 Census
124,055 – number of voting-age citizens in Providence counted in 2022 American Community Surveys five-year estimate
97,570 – number of active status registered voters across the city as of March, 2024
61% – percent of voters registered as Democrats
33% – percent registered unaffiliated
6% – percent registered as Republicans
63.6.% – largest percentage of Hispanic* residents of any ward (Ward 9)
7.2% – smallest percentage of Hispanic residents of any ward (Ward 2)
10,858 – greatest number of voting-age citizens in any ward (Ward 1)
6,174 – smallest number of voting-age citizens in any ward (Ward 9)
5,814 – largest number of voters in any ward (Ward 3)
2,157 – smallest number of voters in any ward (Ward 15)
89.4% – largest percentage of voters who voted for Democratic candidates in any ward (Ward 11)
74.7% – smallest percentage of voters who voted for Democratic candidates in any ward (Ward 5)
Turnout by City Council Ward (composite of 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections)
36.2% Ward 1 (Downtown, Fox Point, some of College Hill, Wayland)
53.6% Ward 2 (College Hill, Wayland, Blackstone)
54.9% Ward 3 (Mount Hope, Hope, some of Blackstone)
40.1% Ward 4 (Charles, some of Wanskuck)
45.8% Ward 5 (Some of Mount Pleasant, Elmhurst, Manton)
42.7% Ward 6 (Some of Manton, Mount Pleasant, Olneyville)
41.6% Ward 7 (Hartford, some of Silver Lake)
40.0% Ward 8 (Reservoir, some of West End)
47.5% Ward 9 (Elmwood, South Elmwood, some of West End)
41.9% Ward 10 (Washington Park, some of Lower South Providence)
38.6% Ward 11 (Upper South Providence, some of Lower South Providence, Elmwood, West End)
41.8% Ward 12 (Smith Hill, some of Valley, Downtown)
37.5% Ward 13 (West End, some of Valley, Smith Hill)
31.9% Ward 14 (Elmhurst, some of Wanskuck)
34.8% Ward 15 (Olneyville, some of Silver Lake)
This data was mostly collected using a program called Dave’s Redistricting Tool (DRA). which contains databases of voter information for each census block, an area approximately the size of a city block or smaller. Click this link to view the map and explore the datasets.
*The United States Census Bureau uses the term “Hispanic” interchangeably with “Latino” and “Spanish” to refer to people of any race who originate from a Spanish-speaking country or who identify with “another Spanish culture or origin.”
Sources:
https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::29bdde94-2176-4c9d-ae10-8275e5b9e6da
https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2022/statewide_primary/providence/2801/
Dexter Vincent recently graduated from Classical High School, was Co-Director of the Providence Student Union Leadership Team, and is an Elmwood neighbor. He is passionate about local politics, climate resilient urban planning, and independent journalism. In his free time, he reads books about cities and art, listens to Rachmaninoff and Miles Davis, draws Providence architecture, and plays with his baby brother.
