Congrats, Mass. Voters: You’re the ‘Most Politically Engaged’ in the ‘United States of Apathy’
As voters await the chance to do their civic duty and politicians scramble to close poll gaps before November 4, let’s take a moment to reflect upon the political powerhouse that is Massachusetts. The Bay State pioneered marriage equality, introduced health care reform, has bred four presidents, and is the birthplace of the American Revolution. Now data suggest it’s also the most politically engaged place in the nation. And no, it’s not just because the Kennedy family calls the state home.
According to finance social network WalletHub.com, Mass. had the fifth-highest percentage of voters in the 2012 presidential election, and that year saw the fourth-largest increase in citizens who voted. Not too shabby, but where we really excelled was in the political engagement category, which factors in the percentage of registered citizens who actually vote, political contributions per adult, and civic engagement education in schools. We beat everyone handily, including Washington D.C.
“With a growing lack of political engagement from its citizens, the United States of America might soon rename itself the United States of Apathy,’’ the WalletHub study states, citing a steep decrease in voter turnout since the 1960s. “Most recently, 15 of the first 25 statewide primary elections this year reported record-low voter turnouts.’’
But presidential elections have also seen a downturn in voter turnout recently, and many states fare better than others when it comes to filling voting booths. This is especially true of “red states’’ like West Virginia and Oklahoma, both of which had about half the voter turnout of Washington D.C. (52 percent) during the 2012 presidential election. Massachusetts had a 66 percent voter turnout for that election, beating the national average of 56 percent by an exemplary 10 percentage points.
The study called low voter turnout in the U.S. “no surprise,’’ due to a lack of civic education in most schools. Mass. and D.C. were among the study’s top education rankings as well as the overall rankings, which could signal a correlation between political engagement and civic education.
The only issue explored by WalletHub in which Mass. didn’t excel was tax fairness. The Commonwealth just barely made the top twenty— ranking 19th in a category that happens to be a pertinent issue separating this year’s front running gubernatorial candidates.
“Over the last eight years of one-party rule, the middle class in Massachusetts has been squeezed by tax hikes and fees,’’ Charlie Baker’s gubernatorial campaign told Boston.com in regard to the study. “That is why Charlie is running to lower taxes, reduce regulations and spur greater economic growth across the commonwealth.’’
Attorney General Martha Coakley has not ruled out a tax increase. Coakley said during last week’s gubernatorial debate at WGBH that she will avoid raising taxes for the middle class and explore “ways to do a graduated income tax.’’
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