Number of Lee County registered voters declines 

Reporter: Elizabeth Biro
Published: Updated:
Caldwell, Cunningham vie for Lee County Property Appraiser seat

Voter registration often reflects population growth or decline.

A look at the numbers from 2021 to 2024 shows a staggering drop in Lee County, a drop of more than 32,000 registered voters.

It’s not Ian; it’s not a population decline. At least not entirely.

There were 506,000 registered voters in 2021 and 474,000 registered voters in 2024, a drop of 32,000.

Lee County total: 

12/31/2021: 506,539 registered active voters

7/22/2024: 474,132 registered active voters 

Lee County Republicans 

2021: 217,921 

2023: 225,495 

Gain of 7,574 

Lee County Democrats 

2021: 131,403

2024: 107,525

Loss of 23,878

Lee County No Party 

2021: 157,215

2024: 141,112

Loss of 16,103 

Lee County’s supervisor of elections, Tommy Doyle, was surprised too when we told him the numbers but did some research, and it doesn’t point to ian or a population decline, simply voters going inactive. Right now, we have 97,000 of them in Lee County alone.

“Will that drop in 32,000 active registered voters impact this election?” “No, because if these people want it, they still, we don’t know if they’re still here or in this county. Some of them may not be they may not vote, but there are going to be some that vote, and those active voters will become eligible.”

Doyle did say a portion of those numbers can be attributed to Ian as voters were displaced, and failure to reply to an “address confirmation notice” is one way to become inactive.

As we get closer to elections, will we see those numbers even out as more voters register or become active? Doyle says we’ll see.

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