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California Value:
Average of the percentage of U.S. citizens age 18 and older who voted in the last presidential and the last midterm national elections
California Rank:
Average of the percentage of U.S. citizens age 18 and older who voted in the last presidential and the last midterm national elections
72.7% - 65.0%
64.9% - 61.6%
61.5% - 58.2%
58.1% - 54.8%
54.7% - 48.4%
US Value: 58.8 %
Top State(s): Oregon: 72.7 %
Bottom State(s): Arkansas: 48.4 %
Definition: Average of the percentage of U.S. citizens age 18 and older who voted in the last presidential and the last midterm national elections
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Voting and Registration Supplement, 2022/2024
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Voting and Registration Supplement, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2026.
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 also associated with higher educational attainment and income later in life.
Voting in particular is linked to lower levels of depression 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.
In 2024, the prevalence of voter participation was higher among:
Interventions are needed at multiple levels to increase voter participation in the United States, including:
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.
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.
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: Positioning Social Workers for Action, by Sunny Harris Rome, 31–49. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2022.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84482-0_2.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.
