Report: Tennessee ranked last in voter turnout in '22, low in registration too

(The Center Square) – Tennessee ranked 42nd in voter registration and last, 51st, in voter turnout in the 2022 midterm election, according to a new report from ThinkTenessee.

Tennessee is scheduled to have its primary for both federal and state posts Thursday.

The report showed those rankings were 41st and 27th in 2020 for the 2020 presidential election and ranked 45th and 49th in the 2016 presidential election of the 50 states and District of Columbia.

ThinkTennessee says it is a civic and economic nonpartisan think tank using research and advocacy to create change.

The report said voter registration and turnout can change more in rural than urban counties.

“In 2023, 42 of Tennessee’s 95 counties had a voter registration rate above 85%— just higher than the 2022 nationwide average (84.4%),” the report said. “Of those, 16 counties saw rates above 90%. Yet, in eight counties, all rural, fewer than 75% of the estimated eligible voters were registered.”

Lake (56.9%), Trousdale (66.4%), Lauderdale (67.5%) and Morgan (68.2%) counties had the lowest registration rates.

Larger counties have higher voter registration rates but there are an estimated 156,000 unregistered residents in Davidson, Shelby, Knox, and Hamilton counties.