Election Day 2022 is in two weeks, and only 68 percent of Americans age 18 and older voted in the 2020 presidential election. Only 53.4 percent voted in the 2018 midterm election.
Personal finance website WalletHub released its report on 2022’s Most and Least Politically Engaged States to determine where Americans are most involved in politics.
WalletHub compared all 50 states based on 10 key indicators of political engagement, including percentage of voters in the 2020 presidential election and total political contributions per adult population.
Virginia ranks first for civic education engagement and voter accessibility policies, but average for change in percentage of electorate who actually voted in 2020 versus 2016. Virginia is second for total political contributions per adult population.
Experts provided comments on which states they think will have a particularly high turnout for the 2022 elections.
“Turnout is a function of four things — political culture, socioeconomic factors (education, income, etc.), the ease of voting and mobilization,” Robert G. Boatright, a professor at Clark University, said in a press release. “The states that usually have high turnout — wealthier and better-educated states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, or Colorado — will continue to have high turnout. Some states with competitive statewide races — places like Georgia or Pennsylvania — may also be places where one or both parties are successful in getting voters to turn out. Few of the states with competitive statewide races are places where turnout usually tends to be high, but if I had to choose, I would pick New Hampshire or Colorado as places where more than one of these factors is present.”
William Eric Davis is a professor at the College of Southern Nevada. He said that states with close elections can expect higher turnout and will be more politically engaged than other states.
“States that have safe elections for one party or the other will still have higher turnout than in the past, but comparatively speaking, the swing states will be more engaged and have higher turnout in November 2022,” Davis said in the press release. “In terms of turnout, I predict the top five states will be Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas and Nevada. Secondarily, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The others will line up behind those.”
Why are some states more politically engaged than others?
“In looking at states with consistently high voter turnout, including Alaska, Maine and Vermont, it is clear that retail politics can help promote political engagement,” Dr. Janet M. Martin, a professor at Bowdoin College, said in the press release. “In states with just one or two congressional districts, a candidate running for a congressional seat or statewide office will be expected to engage with constituents on the campaign trail, in town-hall formats, or in debates. Vibrant press coverage, with candidates and elected officials providing interviews to statewide and local print or broadcast media, in addition to the candidates maintaining an active social media presence, provides a number of different outlets for voters to learn about candidates and issues. Challengers and incumbents alike understand the role of the local press in particular, both in getting out a message and in connecting constituents to their government.”
Associate Professor at Oregon State University Alison Johnston said that several reasons explain why some states are more engaged than others.
“We know from quantitative work that education and income correlate highly with voter turnout. So, states where a greater proportion of people have college degrees and higher incomes (i.e., Massachusetts, Minnesota, etc.), will tend to have higher voter turnout rates,” Johnston said in the press release. “The ease of voting also helps. States where voting by mail is possible and where someone can register to vote close to election time will have fewer barriers in the way for people to vote, which should cause turnout rates to rise.”
Experts also offered comments on effective local strategies for increasing political engagement.
“Unfortunately, threat or fear is a major motivator for citizens, one of the reasons the airwaves fill with negative ads,” Dr. Rebecca Harris, professor at Washington and Lee University, said. “Education is also a long-term predictor of political engagement, especially just understanding how the system works and how ordinary people can move the needle. Mobilization by personal contacts or organizations can work for folks who sympathize with an organization such as a local environmental coalition, local civic group, or social media membership. There is power in mobilizing someone relationally, either as part of their personal brand or as part of their personal circles.”
Daniel Aldrich, professor and director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University said authorities can do something to encourage voting locally.
“1) Make election days national holidays so that people don’t have to choose between paying bills and civic engagement 2) Drop voter ID laws and follow the example of states like Massachusetts which make it easier to participate 3) Provide transportation to polling stations from high-density areas 4) Encourage more young people and minorities to run for office so that voters will feel their interests are being represented in political institution,” Aldrich said.
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Rebecca Barnabi
