Community Corner
Hybrid Cars and Voters on Martha's Vineyard
Most of the Martha's Vineyard towns that voted for Elizabeth Warren had more hybrid cars than the state average — except for Oak Bluffs, which was below the state average.
The towns on Martha's Vineyard are green and blue, except for Oak Bluffs which is brown and blue.
That’s what we found when we compared data from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to the vote in the 2012 U.S. Senate race.
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You can see the results in the map above: Large circles suggest towns with more hybrid ownership per capita, and the red/blue color suggests which way those towns voted last year.
Compared to the state average of 18 hybrids per 1,000 vehicles, here's how Island towns stacked up:
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- Aquinnah: 19.8
- Chilmark: 29.4
- Edgartown: 23.1
- Oak Bluffs: 16.9
- Tisbury: 22
- West Tisbury: 21.9
Patch’s research suggests the state has a good number of what might be called “green Republican” communities. More than 40 percent of the communities where Republican Scott Brown carried the vote — including Edgartown — have above-average numbers of hybrids.
The data is a nice rebuttal to the national trends of hybrid/GOP separation: Niche marketer Experian Marketing Services says that nationally, registered Democrats are 90 percent more likely than registered Republicans to own a hybrid vehicle.
What do you think? Did politics play a part in your car purchasing decision? Do you think you can define a person's political beliefs by what kind of car she drives? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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