Penn leans heavily Republican by roughly 46 points: about 27% of voters vote Democratic and 73% Republican.
About 73% of adults in Penn typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Penn, ~20% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~27% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Penn compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Penn leans more Republican than 10 of 18 neighbors.
Penn runs about 10 points more Republican than North Dakota as a whole.
Why Penn leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Penn, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 3% of residents in Penn live in densely developed areas, about 8 points below the North Dakota average of 12%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Penn, ND sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Penn looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Penn is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 95% of households in Penn own their home, compared to around 78% in nearby cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Churchs Ferry, ND R+50
- Lakewood Park, ND R+45
- Tilden, ND R+39
- South Minnewaukan, ND R+45
- Devils Lake, ND R+25
- Webster, ND R+50
- Minnewaukan, ND R+4
- Fort Totten, ND D+43
- Maza, ND R+48
- St. Michael, ND D+17
Cities with Similar Populations
- Yeso, NM R+42
- Adel, OR R+71
- Atwood, PA R+62
- Whites City, NM R+73
- Latimer, KS R+66
- Owdoms, SC R+36
- Claypool, WV R+58
- Gardar, ND R+54
- Stone Bridge, SD R+50
- Canon, CO R+8
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.