How does health influence voting behavior? (Example)

(Example News Card)

As the United States’ 2020 election draws closer, we explore the complex two-way relationship between health and voting.

Share on PinterestResearch suggests that the complex relationship between health and voting existed before COVID-19.

Voting is the mainstay of a democratic society. It is the primary means for a population to show their support or rejection of policies, political parties, and politicians.

Despite this, for a wide range of reasons, many people do not vote. According to the Pew Research Center, in the 2016 election, 40% of adults in the U.S. who were eligible to vote did not vote. In many states, this figure was closer to 50%.

Not all sections of society are equally likely to vote. For instance, white people are more likely to vote than Black people, who are more likely to vote than Latin and Asian people. People with lower household incomes are less likely to vote than people with higher incomes, while younger people are less likely to vote than older people.

If you would like to check your registration status or register to vote, we have added some useful links at the bottom of this article.

Although there are many reasons that people do not cast their ballot, in this article, we will be focusing on the relationship between health and voting.

Of course, healthcare is a priority for many people in the U.S., and it will help guide many people’s voting decisions. As a Kaiser Family Foundation poll from February 2020 found:

“More than 8 months before the 2020 general presidential election, healthcare (26%) and the economy (23%) are the top issues that registered voters say will be most important in deciding their vote for president.”

In no small way, the power of a democratic vote can have wide-ranging implications for a nation’s healthcare. The road, however, travels both ways. According to a wealth of research, an individual’s health may influence whether or not they vote.

Voting and health

A review from July 2020, which appears in the journal Public Health Reviews, takes a long look at the relationship between health and voting.

The authors examine earlier research to understand the impact of poor health on an individual’s chance of voting. They also ask how to increase voter turnout among people with chronic health conditions.

Looking for associations between voting and health, the authors identified 17 relevant studies. Overall, they found that “[l]ower voting rates are consistently associated with poor self-rated health.”

One study that the researchers included in the review took information from the 2005 European Social Survey. In total, this included data from 2,286 people in Ireland. It found that people who reported poorer health were less likely to vote than people who reported good health.

The authors of the Irish study also found that, paradoxically, people who were less satisfied with the health service were less likely to vote. However, to demonstrate the complexity of these matters, the researchers found that people with poor health who were also dissatisfied with the health service were more likely to vote.

Interestingly, in this study, mental well-being did not appear to influence voter turnout. Contrary to this but in general agreement overall, a study in Britain found that “individuals with poor general and mental health and [people who smoke] are less likely to vote at election time.”

Meanwhile, the authors of a Norwegian study echo the findings of others, reporting that voting participation in local elections “is positively associated with self-assessed health.”

Looking at the world at large, one study took information from the World Value Survey, which included data from 50,859 people in 44 countries. Its authors write:

“People who participated in voting and voluntary social activities tended to report better subjective health than those who did not vote or participate in social activities, after controlling for sociodemographic factors at the individual level.”

Another study, which looked at data from 30 countries in Europe, once again found that poorer health predicted worse voter turnout. In this analysis, the team also identified that the relationship between health and voting was more pronounced in older adults.

Taking a slightly different approach, researchers in Sweden looked at the relationship between mortality and voter registration, among other factors. They followed approximately 95,000 people for 4–21 years.

They found that males aged 65 or older who lived in regions with lower voting turnout had an increased risk of all-cause mortality. They also found that, for males, a “higher election participation rate [was] negatively and significantly associated with the mortality risk from cancer.”

It is worth reiterating that correlation does not prove causation, but there are clearly deep lines running between health and voting.