POWER OF THE PEOPLE. Politico and nonprofit Power Moves recently published the expansive Voter Impact Index project, an initiative which took into account some 41,000 zip codes across the country to determine "voting power" by community. Wisconsin received one of the highest state scores – 75/100 – while the city of Eau Claire claimed the No. 1 spot in regard to impact per vote. (Map graphic via Voter Impact Index)

The city of Eau Claire just received a nod for its influence on national politics and – more specifically – voter power. Politico, a global news source that specializes in politics coverage, found Eau Claire has the highest score in the nation according to a new "Voter Impact Index."

The recent analysis on "voting power," published by Politico on Feb. 10 – in collaboration with nonprofit Power Moves – analyzed all 41,000-plus zip codes across the country to come up with its findings. 

In recent national elections, the Midwest – and Wisconsin, specifically – has turned into a political battleground. Yet, according to the Voter Impact Index, it is those voters in the Eau Claire area who make the most impact. Local residents – with specific emphasis on the 54703 zip code – achieved the highest score nationally: 85/100.

According to the index's methodology, no individual zip code yielded a perfect zero or 100 in the survey, Politico's Andrew Howard wrote.

The interactive Voter Impact Index includes data from over 41,000 zip codes across the nation. Eau Claire, Wis. and its score is highlighted above.

"With more than 40 million Americans moving each year — and some millions of college students moving to new states — the tool is aimed at helping people really understand where their vote can go the furthest," Howard said.

Still, it appears there are pockets across the United States with significantly more voting power than others, including Midwestern states around the Great Lakes; states along the west coast, including New Hampshire and New Jersey; and those in the southwest like Nevada and Arizona. 

The new data comes ahead of spring election season, which will include various nonpartisan local elections and determine one seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Later this year, the fall general election will see a number of partisan races come to a head – including that of Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District. 

The Voter Impact Index methodology, in four steps:

1. Measure the closeness of recent elections for the six targeted office types (President; U.S. Senate; U.S. House; Governor; State Assembly; State Senate)

2. Assign a general election race for each of the six office types to every ZIP code

3. Assign a relative weight for the metric for each targeted office type, for purposes of calculating a single, combined metric

4. Combine the metrics for each of the six elections assigned to a ZIP code into a single overall metric, based on assigned weightings

Read the in-depth methodology explanations online at www.powermoves.vote/our-methodology

Read the full Politico article online and view the Voter Impact Index website to learn more.