What are the common conceptions in these parts about voting? That Middle America values its chance to cast a ballot, and that older Americans head to the polls more often than young ones.

Both are true, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

New information released by the federal agency shows that citizens in the Midwest registered and voted in higher percentage than their East, South and West counterparts in the 2008 general election.

The data show that 70.6 percent of the Midwest population registered and 63.4 percent voted. None of the other regions had a voting participation higher than 58 percent.

In the Midwest subdivision called West North Central, which includes Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska, the percentage of voters approached 66 percent.

Nationwide, 64.9 percent of eligible voters registered, and 58.2 percent went to he polls.

In an election touted as having mobilized young people, just one of every two 18-to-24-year-olds went to the polls in the Midwest. More than two-thirds of the Midwesterners 75 and older voted in November.

Statistics also showed that citizens with advanced college degrees were 49 percent more likely to vote in 2008 than those with only high school degrees. In addition, veterans voted at a 70.5 percent rate, while 56.8 percent of non-veterans went to the polls.

Click here to look through the detailed tables.