Voter Participation (Average) - Ages 65+

Voter Participation (Average) - Ages 65+  in United States

United States

Voting is a form of active civic participation, which is associated with better health. Research suggests that active social engagement can improve mental and physical health by providing a greater sense of belonging, purpose and support. The act of voting allows individuals a voice in the political process. Their elected political representatives will make choices that impact many aspects of daily life, including individual wealth, rights, education, social services programs and health care access and quality.

Voter participation in the 2020 presidential election was higher among:

• Those ages 65-74 compared with all other age groups; it was lowest among those ages 18-24. 
• Women compared with men. 
• Non-Hispanic white adults compared with Black, Asian and Hispanic adults, although 2020 saw a record-high turnout among Asian adults. Studies have found that strict photo identification laws negatively impacted the turnout of Hispanic, Black and mixed-race citizens.
• Adults with an annual household income of $100,000 or more; voter participation decreases with each decrease in income level. 
• Adults with a college degree compared with those with a high school degree or less.

Additionally, older adults requiring disability accommodations may face barriers to voting. A 2017 study found that 60% of sampled polling sites had one or more features that may impede voting, and only 17% of sites were fully accommodating to people with disabilities.

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

• Simplifying voter registration processes. 
• Relaxing voter identification laws that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities.
• Expanding when and how people can vote through early voting and absentee ballots. 
• Ensuring polling places are accessible to all voters, including people with disabilities, on election days and for early in-person voting.

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 to vote and inform them about upcoming elections.

Healthy People 2030 identifies civic participation as a key issue in the Social and Community Context domain of the social determinants of health, and has an objective to increase the proportion of the voting-age citizens who vote.

Bath, Peter A., and Dorly Deeg. “Social Engagement and Health Outcomes among Older People: Introduction to a Special Section.” European Journal of Ageing 2, no. 1 (March 1, 2005): 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-005-0019-4.

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.

Kim, Saerom, Chang-yup Kim, and Myoungsoon You. “Civic Participation and Self-Rated Health: A Cross-National Multilevel Analysis Using World Value Survey.” Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, January 27, 2015. https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.14.031.

Root, Danielle, and Liz Kennedy. “Increasing Voter Participation in America,” July 11, 2018. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/07/11/453319/increasing-voter-participation-america/.