What sources provide cross-tabulated data of Texas registered voters by both age and race/ethnicity for 2022–2024?
Executive summary
State-level voter registration files from the Texas Secretary of State provide month-by-month totals and some breakdowns for 2022–2024 (see March 2024 and January 2022 registration figures) [1] [2]. Supplementary datasets and analyses — including district-level “Population and Voter Data” briefs and academic summaries — offer cross-tabs by race/ethnicity and age in varying formats but no single clearly labeled public source in the provided set offers a ready, statewide cross-tab of registered voters by both age and race/ethnicity for every month 2022–2024 [3] [4] [5].
1. Where to start: Texas Secretary of State registration reports
The Texas Secretary of State publishes periodic voter registration figures (for example, a March 2024 report and a January 2022 report) that are the canonical state-produced counts for those months [1] [2]. These reports are the primary source for official registration totals; researchers routinely begin here because the SOS controls the master registration file [6]. Available sources do not mention a single SOS spreadsheet that directly cross-tabulates registered voters simultaneously by age and by race/ethnicity across 2022–2024.
2. District- and plan-level briefs that include demographic cross-tabs
Texas legislative or redistricting briefs and related PDFs contain cross-tab-style tables: the “Population and Voter Data with Voter Registration …” document includes columns for %Anglo, %Non-Anglo, %Asian, %Black, %Hispanic, and registration/turnout figures by district and by year, showing 2022 and 2024 numbers in the excerpts [3]. That kind of product demonstrates one route to cross-tabulated information — analysts producing redistricting plans often assemble demographic breakdowns tied to voter registration — but these are usually district- or plan-specific rather than a single statewide age × race registration matrix [3].
3. National survey data for age × race voting measures (not registration counts)
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Voting and Registration program (Current Population Survey Voting Supplement) reports voting and registration characteristics by age and by race/ethnicity for election years, and it explicitly provides tables by age and race — but it is a survey of self-reported registration and turnout, not a state voter‑file count [5]. Reporters and researchers use CPS to get cross-tabs of age and race for voting behavior; however, CPS is not the SOS registration file and so does not provide an administrative count of registered Texans by both variables [5].
4. Local/academic analyses that interpret registration gaps
University and policy shops use mixes of administrative and survey data to estimate registration by race and age. For example, Rice University’s Kinder Institute analyzed registration gaps in Houston using county/city-level registration and demographic data and cited KFF/Census-based registration rates for 2022 [4]. These analyses are useful for context and for county-level disaggregation but they rely on combining sources and methodological assumptions, and they do not replace a direct statewide administrative cross-tab [4].
5. What’s missing from the available sources
No provided result is a single, documented dataset that directly cross-tabulates Texas registered-voter counts simultaneously by both age and race/ethnicity for the 2022–2024 period. The SOS reports give official registration totals and the redistricting-style PDF gives demographic percentages by district, while CPS supplies survey cross-tabs for registration/turnout by age and race — but none of the supplied items present a clear statewide age × race registered-voter table for 2022–2024 in one file [1] [2] [3] [5].
6. Practical next steps for a researcher
Begin with the Secretary of State’s historical and monthly registration pages to obtain official counts and to identify available variable breakdowns [1] [2] [6]. Next, consult the redistricting/population briefs (the “Population and Voter Data” PDF) for demographic breakdowns tied to districts if you need race/ethnicity cross-tabs at that granularity [3]. Use the Census CPS Voting Supplement to get survey-based cross-tabs of registration and turnout by age and race for 2022 when administrative cross-tab is unavailable [5]. If a precise administrative age × race cross-tab is required, contact the Texas SOS or county registrars to request an extract or inquire whether they can supply such a crosswalk; available sources do not mention whether the SOS will release that exact matrix on request [1] [6].
7. Caveats, competing perspectives and implicit agendas
Administrative files and redistricting briefs sometimes present race/ethnicity as percent compositions rather than absolute counts and often report by district rather than statewide, which can bias interpretations if you aggregate without adjustment [3]. Survey data (CPS) provide cross-tabs but are subject to sampling error and self-reporting biases; researchers using them equate “registered” with self-report rather than administrative status [5]. Academic and advocacy analyses (e.g., Kinder Institute) emphasize registration shortfalls for younger and minority voters, which can reflect institutional priorities to increase registration; their methods combine sources and estimates rather than relying solely on SOS administrative snapshots [4].
If you want, I can draft exact queries or FOIA-style request language to send to the Texas Secretary of State or outline how to merge SOS district tables with Census age distributions to approximate an age × race registration matrix using the documents above [1] [3] [5].