“Sick Leave from Work and the Voting Booth? A Register-Based Study on Health and Turnout”
Mattila, Mikko; et al. Acta Politica, July 2018.
This study looks at voting data from Finland to see whether people who had taken sick leave from work in the months leading up to an election were more or less likely to vote.
Key findings:
- People who took multiple sick leaves over several years were less likely to vote than people who had immediate or short-term health issues.
- “This finding indicates that chronic health impairments tend to have a stronger negative relationship with voting than acute problems.”
“Depression and Political Participation”
Ojeda, Christopher. Social Science Quarterly, November 2015.
This study looks at two survey datasets that measure depressed mood and self-reported turnout among adults and adolescents as they come of voting age in the U.S.
Key findings:
- Among adults, the likelihood someone will vote decreases as the severity of depressed mood increases.
- Among adolescents, depressed mood affected both turnout and other forms of political participation, such as participating in a political club or organization or contributing money to a political party.
“Incorporating Health into Studies of Political Behavior: Evidence for Turnout and Partisanship”
Pacheco, Julianna; Fletcher, Jason. Political Research Quarterly, March 2015.
This study analyzes U.S. data from two surveys on self-reported health status and political behavior, which includes turnout and party affiliation.
Key findings:
- People who view their health as excellent are more likely to vote. They’re also more likely to identify as Republicans.
- The authors suggest that health inequalities can have “significant political consequences.” For example, the authors suggest that health policies enacted might favor the healthy (e.g., denying health insurance coverage to people with pre-existing conditions).
“Sidelined or Mainstreamed? Political Participation and Attitudes of People with Disabilities in the United States: Disability, Political Participation, and Attitudes”
Schur, Lisa; Adya, Meera. Social Science Quarterly, September 2013.
Are disabled Americans more or less likely to vote than their peers without disabilities? This study combines four datasets to examine this question in the context of the 2008 and 2010 elections.
Key findings:
- “Citizens with disabilities remain less likely than nondisabled citizens to vote.”
- “While there are few differences in political preferences and party affiliations, people with disabilities tend to favor a greater government role in employment and healthcare, and give lower ratings on government responsiveness and trustworthiness.”
- Extrapolating from the sample of over 90,000, the authors conclude that 3 million more voters would have participated in the 2008 election and 3.2 million more would have voted in 2010 if disabled people voted at the same rates as people without disabilities.
“How Voter Turnout Varies between Different Chronic Conditions? A Population-Based Register Study”
Sund, Reijo, et al. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, May 2017.
This study breaks down voter turnout in Finland by specific chronic conditions through analysis of a random sample of 11 percent of the entire electorate in the country’s 1999 parliamentary elections.
Key findings:
- Neurodegenerative brain diseases like dementia had the strongest negative correlation with voting.
- Alcoholism and mental disorders were also associated with a reduced likelihood of voting.
- Cancer and asthma were associated with an increased likelihood of voting.
- Having multiple chronic conditions decreased the likelihood of voting.
“Voting While Ailing? The Effect of Voter Facilitation Instruments on Health-Related Differences in Turnout”
Wass, Hanna; et al. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, October 2017.
This study looks at whether voter facilitation measures like proxy voting (having a delegate vote on your behalf), early voting and voting by mail exacerbate or decrease discrepancies in turnout between healthy and sick or disabled people by comparing survey data collected across 30 countries in Europe. Over 240,000 responses were collected from six survey rounds conducted over 11 years, from 2002 through 2012.
Key findings:
- “Among voters with health problems or activity limitations… the higher the level of facilitation, the lower the level of turnout.” In other words, the more opportunities offered by the government for people to vote without going to the polls on Election Day, the less likely it is that people with health problems or other limitations will vote.
- “As a result, voter facilitation in fact intensifies the health-related differences, as suggested in previous studies. It is important to notice, however, that this is solely because facilitation has (practically) zero effect on voting propensity among the healthy but a negative interaction effect with poor health/functional ability.” The authors theorize as an explanation for these results that countries with low turnout among those with health or activity limitations in turn adopt voter facilitation practices as a means to boost turnout among these individuals.
- “Only proxy voting appears to (relatively) increase participation among those with activity limitations.”
We’ve summarized research that shows how rural areas, which tend to have fewer health care resources, have worse health outcomes than their better-resourced, urban peers. For more research on health equity, check out our roundups on toxic waste sites and environmental justice, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and health interventions in non-traditional settings.
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