Voter Participation (Average) in West Virginia

West Virginia

Voting is a form of active civic engagement, which is associated with better health, reduced violence and lower unemployment rates. Civic participation during adolescence and early adulthood is associated with higher educational attainment and income later in life. Voting, in particular, was found to be associated with fewer depressive symptoms and fewer risky health behaviors. While the exact mechanisms behind these relationships are unclear, research suggests that active civic participation improves mental health by providing a greater sense of belonging and decreased social isolation. 

The relationship between voting and the social determinants of health is complex. When more groups vote, communities gain more influence over who holds political power. Elected officials can shape policies of the needs and demands of their community, subsequently impacting the social determinants of their health. This relationship works both ways: The social determinants of health can also influence voting patterns as people seek candidates who address their needs. Voting not only decides who governs but also plays a pivotal role in shaping the social factors that impact our well-being.

Although voter participation has steadily increased over the last several decades, disparities remain. Voter participation in 2020 was higher among:

• Non-Hispanic white adults compared with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic adults. A recent study found that strict photo identification laws negatively impact the voter turnout of Hispanic, Black and multiracial citizens.
• Those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more compared with those with an income less than $30,000.
• College graduates compared with those with a high school degree or less.
• Older adults ages 65-74 compared with those ages 18-24.

Interventions are needed at multiple levels to increase voter participation in the United States, including: 

• Simplifying voter registration processes. 
• Changing voter identification laws that unfairly disadvantage racial and ethnic minorities.
• Targeting underrepresented populations such as high school and college students with awareness campaigns. 
• Sending out notifications about voter identification requirements in advance of elections. 

Many national- and state-level organizations are committed to improving voter access and turnout. One such organization, Vot-ER, promotes civic engagement by empowering health care institutions and providers to register patients and others in their institutions to vote.

Civic participation is a key issue in Healthy People 2030’s Social and Community Context domain of the social determinants of health. They also include an objective to increase the proportion of voting-age citizens who vote.

Ballard, Parissa J., Lindsay T. Hoyt, and Mark C. Pachucki. “Impacts of Adolescent and Young Adult Civic Engagement on Health and Socioeconomic Status in Adulthood.” Child Development 90, no. 4 (2019): 1138–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12998.

Brennan, Jan. “Increasing Voter Turnout in Local Elections.” National Civic Review 109, no. 1 (Spring 2020): 16–23. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.32543/naticivirevi.109.1.0016.

Brown, Chloe L., Danyaal Raza, and Andrew D. Pinto. “Voting, Health and Interventions in Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review.” Public Health Reviews 41, no. 1 (December 2020): 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-020-00133-6.

Citrin, Jack, Donald P. Green, and Morris Levy. “The Effects of Voter ID Notification on Voter Turnout: Results from a Large-Scale Field Experiment.” Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy 13, no. 2 (June 2014): 228–42. https://doi.org/10.1089/elj.2013.0209.

Hajnal, Zoltan, Nazita Lajevardi, and Lindsay Nielson. “Voter Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes.” The Journal of Politics 79, no. 2 (2017): 363–79. https://doi.org/10.1086/688343.

Rome, Sunny Harris. “Why Voting Matters.” In Promote the Vote, by Sunny Harris Rome, 31–49. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84482-0_2.