Most & Least Politically Engaged States (2026)

The best way to stay engaged in the political process is to vote. But even with a record number of people voting in the last presidential election, we still only had a 66.8% turnout, unfortunately.

Some states are much more politically engaged than others, in part because they emphasize civic education in schools and remove barriers to voter registration. Residents also stay engaged in other ways such as contributing to or volunteering for political campaigns, or joining local civic organizations.

To determine where people are making their voices heard the most, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on 10 key indicators of political engagement. The metrics range from voter registration statistics and laws to the percentage of people who voted in recent elections to political contributions.

“You might expect the most politically engaged states to be contentious swing states where votes matter most, but in actuality they are states that are solid blue or lean blue – Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. The only swing states among the top 10 most politically engaged states are Minnesota and Arizona, which shows that plenty of people who could have an impact on the upcoming election are either choosing not to have their voices heard or are meeting some sort of obstacles to vote.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Most Politically Engaged States

% of Registered Voters in 2020 Presidential Election

Highest

• 1. New Jersey
• 2. Minnesota
• 3. Mississippi
• 4. Oregon
• 5. Maryland

Lowest

• T-46. Oklahoma
• T-46. West Virginia
• 48. Florida
• 49. Nevada
• 50. Arkansas

% of Electorate Who Voted in 2022 Midterm Elections

Highest

• 1. Oregon
• 2. Maine
• 3. Minnesota
• 4. Michigan
• 5. Vermont

Lowest

• 46. South Carolina
• 47. Tennessee
• 48. Arkansas
• 49. Indiana
• 50. West Virginia

Best State vs. Worst State: 2x Difference

Oregon vs. West Virginia

% of Electorate Who Voted in 2020 Presidential Election

Highest

• 1. New Jersey
• 2. Minnesota
• 3. Oregon
• 4. New Hampshire
• T-5. Maryland
• T-5. Wisconsin

Lowest

• 46. Alabama
• 47. South Dakota
• 48. Oklahoma
• 49. West Virginia
• 50. Arkansas

Best State vs. Worst State: 2x Difference

New Jersey vs. Arkansas

% Change in Electorate Who Voted in 2020 Elections vs. 2016 Elections

Biggest

• 1. Hawaii
• 2. New Jersey
• 3. Tennessee
• 4. Kentucky
• 5. Arizona

Smallest

• 46. Maine
• 47. Nebraska
• 48. Colorado
• 49. North Carolina
• 50. Arkansas

Total Political Contributions per Adult Population

Highest

• 1. Wyoming
• 2. Virginia
• 3. Montana
• 4. Massachusetts
• 5. Connecticut

Lowest

• 46. Kentucky
• 47. Hawaii
• 48. Indiana
• 49. Mississippi
• 50. West Virginia

Best State vs. Worst State: 5x Difference

Wyoming vs. West Virginia

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In-Depth Look at the Top States

Maryland

Maryland is the most politically engaged state, in large part because it requires civic education in schools and makes it very easy to register to vote. Maryland has all four key provisions that bring down barriers to voting: early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, online voter registration and same-day voter registration. The state also allows young people to preregister to vote as early as age 16, and their registration goes into effect as soon as they turn 18.

Maryland’s ranking in this study is driven heavily by how much it reduces barriers to voter participation compared to other states. Over 78% of Marylanders are registered to vote, the fifth-highest percentage in the country, and around 74% of residents actually voted in the 2020 presidential election, the fifth-highest turnout rate. For comparison, the highest voter turnout rate for any state was only slightly higher, at 78%. Maryland had the 12th-highest turnout rate for the midterm elections, too. Based on Maryland’s voting laws, we should expect to see registration and turnout rates increase even more in the future, too.

To top things off, the average political contribution for a voting-age adult in the Old Line State is $18.29, the ninth-highest in the country.

Virginia

Virginia is the second-most politically engaged state, with the second-largest average political contribution for voting-age adults, at $23.24. It also has the fifth-most opportunities to volunteer for political campaigns per capita.

In addition, Virginia has made its voting extremely accessible, with early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, online voter registration and same-day voter registration. Old Dominion also requires civic education in schools and allows people to preregister to vote as soon as they turn 16 years old.

Finally, Virginia has good turnout for presidential elections. In the 2020 presidential election, 76% of people eligible to vote were registered, the 14th-highest percentage in the country. Nearly 72% of residents actually voted, too – the eighth-highest percentage.

New Jersey

New Jersey is the third-most politically engaged state, with the highest level of voter registration in the country, at nearly 85% of eligible residents. Plus, around 78% of residents actually voted in the 2020 presidential election, the highest turnout rate in the country. This represented an increase of around 17% from the 2016 election, the second-highest turnout increase.

New Jersey also requires civic education in schools, and it allows young people to preregister to vote as early as age 17. The state also allows early voting, no-excuse absentee voting and online voter registration. But unlike the other top states, it does not have same-day voter registration.

Correlation Analysis

Education Ranking

GDP per Capita Ranking

Tax Fairness Ranking

Blue vs. Red States

Percentage of Residents Voting by Age Group

Notes: For the states with N/A, the base was less than 75,000 and therefore too small to show the derived measure.
The columns in the table above depict the politically engaged share of the population by age group, as well as the relative rank of each state, where a rank of 1 represents the highest engagement for each age group.

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 personal contributions to campaigns be tax-deductible?

Ask the Experts

Emily Stacey
Ph.D. – Professor of Political Science, Political Science Coordinator – Rose State College
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Dr. Peter Francia
Professor & Director of the Center for Survey Research – East Carolina University
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Robert Duffy
Professor and Chair, Political Science Department – Colorado State University - College of Liberal Arts
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Donald Critchlow
Center Director & Katzin Family Professor of History, Center for American Institutions, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies – Arizona State University
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Dr. Timothy W. Kneeland
Professor & Director, Museums, Archives & Public History; Director, Center for Public History – Nazareth University
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Victor Menaldo
Professor of Political Science – University of Washington
Read More

Methodology

In order to determine the most and least politically engaged states, WalletHub compared the 50 states 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’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 2020 Presidential Election: Full Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Percentage of Electorate Who Actually Voted in the 2022 Midterm Elections: Full Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Percentage of Electorate Who Actually Voted in the 2020 Presidential Election: Double Weight (~18.18 Points)
• Change in Percentage of Electorate Who Actually Voted in the 2020 Elections Compared with the 2016 Elections: Double Weight (~18.18 Points)
• Total Political Contributions per Voting-Age 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, Organizations, or Associations: Half Weight (~4.55 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, OpenSecrets, The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Ballotpedia, AmeriCorps, National Conference of State Legislatures and Indeed.

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