Most & Least Politically Engaged States

Civic participation is a key ingredient of a well-functioning democracy, and voter turnout is one measure of the public’s trust in government. But there’s evidence to suggest a growing lack of political engagement among Americans.

Presidential elections tend to get citizens more energized than midterms. In 2016, a record 137.5 million Americans voted. Unfortunately, that number still only accounts for 61.4% of the voting-age population. The numbers are much worse for midterms. In 2014, for instance, 15 of the first 25 statewide primary elections reported record-low voter turnouts. Nationwide, only 36.4% of all eligible voters voted.

Among developed nations, the U.S. is rank 26 of 32 when it comes to voter turnout. That’s no surprise, considering most states don’t emphasize civic education in their schools. Large proportions of the public fail even simple knowledge tests such as knowing whether one’s state requires identification in order to vote.

But of the factors that affect participation rates, income is an important one, with implications on both voter turnout and public policy. In the 2016 election, only 41.4% of registered voters with family incomes of under $10,000 voted. In comparison, 80.3% of those with family incomes of $150,000 or more voted.

With Election Day close at hand, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on ten key indicators of political engagement. They range from “percentage of registered voters in the 2016 presidential election” to “total political contributions per adult population.” Continue reading below for our findings, additional insight from political experts and a full description of our methodology.

Main Findings

 

Most Politically Engaged States

Overall Rank	State	Total Score		Overall Rank	State	Total Score
1	District of Columbia	79.19		27	Louisiana	43.31
2	Maine	69.26		28	Arkansas	42.99
3	Utah	61.47		29	Rhode Island	41.06
4	Maryland	59.56		30	Ohio	40.53
5	Washington	58.60		31	Kansas	39.98
6	Wyoming	58.26		32	Pennsylvania	39.36
7	Colorado	58.22		33	Iowa	39.14
8	Montana	55.70		34	Idaho	38.41
9	Virginia	55.48		35	New Jersey	37.61
10	Wisconsin	54.86		36	Delaware	37.39
11	Massachusetts	54.19		37	Michigan	36.08
12	Oregon	51.73		38	Georgia	35.41
13	Nebraska	51.01		39	Oklahoma	34.62
14	Minnesota	50.96		40	South Carolina	34.57
15	Missouri	50.22		41	Texas	34.51
16	New Hampshire	49.69		42	South Dakota	34.37
17	Alaska	49.65		43	Kentucky	34.28
18	Illinois	48.36		44	New York	33.30
19	North Carolina	47.50		45	West Virginia	32.57
20	North Dakota	47.10		46	Mississippi	32.20
21	Vermont	45.93		47	Tennessee	31.26
22	Connecticut	45.86		48	Indiana	31.25
23	Florida	45.50		49	Alabama	30.56
24	California	44.86		50	Hawaii	23.08
25	Nevada	44.42		51	New Mexico	21.88
26	Arizona	44.09

Correlation Analysis

Education Ranking

GDP per Capita Ranking

Tax Fairness Ranking

 

Blue vs. Red States

% of Citizen Voters by Age Group

State	‘Political Engagement Among Young People (Aged 18 to 24)’ (Rank)	‘Political Engagement Among the Elderly (Aged 65+)’ (Rank)
Virginia	60.70% (1)	72.60% (26)
Minnesota	54.70% (2)	72.60% (26)
Maryland	54.30% (3)	68.10% (36)
Kentucky	53.90% (4)	60.20% (47)
Nebraska	52.90% (5)	79.50% (3)
Pennsylvania	51.40% (6)	64.80% (41)
North Carolina	50.70% (7)	74.70% (13)
Louisiana	49.80% (8)	70.20% (32)
Maine	49.40% (9)	82.00% (1)
Colorado	49.00% (10)	81.10% (2)
Oregon	48.80% (11)	74.70% (13)
Missouri	48.00% (12)	75.80% (11)
Wisconsin	47.10% (13)	77.90% (6)
Illinois	46.80% (14)	73.20% (23)
Mississippi	46.70% (15)	77.70% (7)
Washington	45.90% (16)	77.60% (8)
Idaho	44.30% (17)	74.70% (13)
South Carolina	43.90% (18)	73.10% (25)
Utah	43.60% (19)	76.60% (10)
Georgia	43.50% (20)	72.40% (28)
Connecticut	43.30% (21)	73.60% (22)
Indiana	43.00% (22)	67.70% (38)
Nevada	42.90% (23)	74.00% (19)
Massachusetts	42.80% (24)	74.30% (18)
California	42.70% (25)	69.20% (34)
Alabama	42.70% (25)	66.90% (40)
New Mexico	40.90% (27)	74.70% (13)
New Jersey	40.70% (28)	68.00% (37)
Arizona	40.20% (29)	72.20% (29)
Ohio	40.10% (30)	74.00% (19)
New York	38.20% (31)	64.50% (42)
Michigan	37.80% (32)	74.40% (17)
Iowa	37.60% (33)	78.00% (5)
Florida	37.30% (34)	69.80% (33)
Kansas	35.80% (35)	75.20% (12)
Arkansas	34.50% (36)	67.30% (39)
Oklahoma	33.70% (37)	70.70% (30)
West Virginia	32.50% (38)	63.30% (45)
Texas	31.90% (39)	69.00% (35)
Tennessee	31.10% (40)	64.20% (44)
Hawaii	21.70% (41)	60.30% (46)
Montana	N/A (N/A)	78.10% (4)
Vermont	N/A (N/A)	77.10% (9)
South Dakota	N/A (N/A)	73.90% (21)
New Hampshire	N/A (N/A)	73.20% (23)
Delaware	N/A (N/A)	70.50% (31)
Rhode Island	N/A (N/A)	64.40% (43)
Alaska	N/A (N/A)	N/A (N/A)
District of Columbia	N/A (N/A)	N/A (N/A)
North Dakota	N/A (N/A)	N/A (N/A)
Wyoming	N/A (N/A)	N/A (N/A)

Note: For the states with N/A, the base was less than 75,000 and therefore too small to show the derived measure.

 

Ask the Experts

Given the eroding political engagement in the U.S., we asked a panel of experts to share their insight on the voter-turnout disparities among states and advice for local governments on improving civic participation. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

1. Which states do you think will have a particularly high turnout this election year?
2. Why are some states more politically engaged than others?
3. What are effective local strategies for increasing political engagement?
4. Do Super PACs (Political Action Committees) add value to the political process? Should they be more heavily regulated?
5. Should corporations be able to make political contributions?
6. Should personal contributions to campaigns be tax-deductible?

Methodology

In order to determine the most and least politically engaged states, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across ten key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most political engagement. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we calculated the population size using the square root of the population in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

Finally, we determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

• Percentage of Registered Voters in the 2016 Presidential Election: Full Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Percentage of Electorate Who Actually Voted in the 2014 Midterm Elections: Full Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Percentage of Electorate Who Actually Voted in the 2016 Presidential Election: Double Weight (~18.18 Points)
• Change in Percentage of Electorate Who Actually Voted in the 2016 Elections Compared with the 2012 Elections: Double Weight (~18.18 Points)
• Total Political Contributions per Adult Population: Double Weight (~18.18 Points)
• Civic Education Engagement: Half Weight (~4.55 Points)
• Voter Accessibility Policies: Half Weight (~4.55 Points)
• Preregistration for Young Voters Policies: Full Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Volunteer Political Campaign Opportunities per Capita*: Half Weight (~4.55 Points)
• Percentage of Residents Who Participate in Civic Groups or Organizations: Half Weight (~4.55 Points)

 

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Responsive Politics, Ballotpedia, Corporation for National and Community Service, National Conference of State Legislatures, Center for American Progress and Indeed.

Image: Barbara Kalbfleisch / Shutterstock.com

Community Discussion

Submit

More Comments