Can voting improve your health?

It may have been in a high school civics class that you first learned that voting is an important right and responsibility. It’s an essential way to participate in our country’s democracy.

Unfortunately, it’s a lesson that some people may have forgotten.

While about 67% of eligible voters voted in the 2020 U.S. presidential election — a record high turnout — more than 80 million U.S. citizens chose not to have their voices heard. The most common reason for not voting: They simply weren’t registered to vote.

Voting has the power to change your life and the lives of your loved ones and community members. Your vote can help determine who serves as lawmakers, what policies those leaders focus on, and where your tax dollars will go.

Your vote can also lead to improved health.

According to Healthy Democracy Healthy People, a nonpartisan initiative of major public health and civic engagement organizations, voting is directly associated with a community’s health. When you vote, you get a say in:

• Health care policies, health and human services programs, and funding for hospitals

• The creation and maintenance of parks and greenspaces that make the air cleaner and provide safe outdoor spaces

• Funding for public schools and community colleges

• The services our governments provide, including safe roads; emergency services, such as police, fire and paramedics; and the justice system

• Improving access to food, housing and transportation

“It has been shown that a healthy democracy leads to healthy people,” says Bri DuBose, PhD, MHI, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with the Sharp HealthCare Office of Transformation and a civic health professor at the University of San Diego. “Though many people feel that their vote will have limited impact on their own lives, increased voter turnout is associated with better health outcomes.”

What’s more, DuBose says that studies have found that a low voter turnout can lead to a less healthy community. “It also indicates that a small number of voters are making critical decisions for the whole community, including decisions directly related to health care,” she says.

Additionally, according to the Health & Democracy Index, healthier people are more likely to vote and participate in other aspects of community life. Such engagement makes for a more connected, inclusive and supportive community.

Why don’t some people vote?

DuBose points out that in order to vote, people must understand who’s eligible to register to vote, how to register and what the deadline is to register for each election. Voters must also be able to physically vote and have the education, time and energy to understand the voting process and make voting decisions.

This, she says, requires accessible voting locations and the ability to vote from home so that all people, especially people with different abilities, can participate in our democratic process.

In the U.S., you can register to vote if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen (noncitizens are allowed to vote in some local elections)

• Meet your state’s residency requirements

• Are age 18 on or before Election Day

• Are registered to vote by your state's voter registration deadline

In California, you must register to vote by Oct. 21 to vote in the 2024 California general election on Nov. 5, during which we’ll be voting on who will be the next president of the U.S., who will fill other local and national offices, and which initiatives will be approved or rejected. Same day registration and voting — an option for California voters who miss the deadline to register — is allowed from Oct. 22 to Nov. 5.

You can register to vote, pre-register to vote if you’re age 16 or 17 and want to vote in the future, change your voter registration, or confirm your voter registration status online or by visiting a county elections office, library, DMV office or post office.

“It’s important for people to recognize that our lawmakers are dividing up finite resources,” DuBose says. “And the way to have a voice in how those resources are spent is through voting. Your voice matters — let it be heard.”