Douglas County launches election dashboard, reveals women outnumber men on rolls

Douglas County’s new election dashboard puts one striking fact at the center of local politics: women now outnumber men on the voter rolls by 4,394, even though the county’s population is almost evenly split by sex.

The online tool, launched by the Douglas County Clerk’s Office on April 29, showed 41,709 female voters and 37,315 male voters as of April 27. It also showed 80,078 registered voters countywide, with 66,707 listed as active and 13,371 marked inactive, meaning election officials had reason to believe those voters may have moved or no longer be eligible at that address.

The dashboard gives residents, candidates and civic groups a clearer picture of where the electorate lives and how it is changing. Of the county’s registered voters, 61,808 lived in Lawrence, far more than in Baldwin City, Eudora or Lecompton. The data also showed an average voter age of 48.55 and a median voter age of 46, offering a snapshot of a county electorate that is older than the college-town image often attached to Lawrence.

Party registration remained tilted toward Democrats, who made up 44.8% of the rolls. Unaffiliated voters accounted for 28.3%, Republicans 25.2% and Libertarians 1.3%. With the Aug. 4 primary and Nov. 3 general election ahead, the dashboard gives campaigns and advocacy groups a live reference point for turnout, registration and where attention may be needed most.

Clerk Jamie Shew said the office plans to update the dashboard weekly and daily as elections draw closer. The clerk’s office also tied the rollout to a new Ballot Box blog that will post voting and election updates, part of a broader push to give the public “timely, accurate information” and build confidence in the election process.

The transparency effort builds on earlier steps in Douglas County, including the public 24/7 livestream of ballot boxes used during the 2024 election cycle. Shew, who has served as county clerk and election officer since 2004 and is in his fourth term, has made election administration a long-running test case for how local government can show its work. The new dashboard extends that model by making voter rolls, demographic patterns and inactive registrations easier to scrutinize before the next votes are cast.