Question:
What is the relationship of education to voter participation?
Response:
The more education people have, the more likely they are to vote in presidential and congressional elections.
In the 2000 presidential election, 70 percent of the U.S. voting-age citizen population (18 years of age and older) was registered to vote and 59 percent voted. Among these citizens, the more education a person possessed, the more likely that person was to be registered to vote and to vote. For example, 52 percent of voting-age citizens who had not completed high school were registered to vote in 2000, compared with 83 percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher. Thirty-eight percent of citizens who had not completed high school voted in 2000, compared with 77 percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher.
The voting rate in presidential elections has historically been higher than in congressional elections, so it is necessary to consider these two types of elections separately (U.S. Department of Commerce 2002). Among U.S. citizens 18 years of age and older, the voting rate increased between 1996 and 2000 (from 58 to 59 percent), while it decreased between 1994 and 1998 (from 48 to 45 percent). In all four elections, there was a positive relationship between educational attainment and voting; citizens with more education were more likely to register and to vote.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). The Condition of Education 2003 (NCES 2003�7), Section 2, Indicator 15.| Percentage of U.S. Citizens Ages 18 and Older who Reported Being Registered to Vote and Voting, by Educational Attainment, Type of Election, and Year: 1994 to 2000 | ||||
| Education | Presidential election | Congressional election | ||
| 1996 | 2000 | 1994 | 1998 | |
| Reported being registered to vote | ||||
| Total | 70.9 | 69.5 | 67.1 | 67.1 |
| Less than high school | 54.2 | 52.2 | 51.5 | 51.2 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 65.5 | 63.9 | 62.4 | 61.9 |
| Some college | 76.1 | 73.3 | 71.7 | 71.4 |
| Bachelors degree or higher | 85.3 | 83.2 | 81.5 | 80.3 |
| Reported voting | ||||
| Total | 58.4 | 59.5 | 48.3 | 45.3 |
| Less than high school | 38.8 | 38.4 | 30.7 | 29.6 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 51.7 | 52.5 | 42.9 | 39.2 |
| Some college | 63.1 | 63.1 | 51.5 | 48.3 |
| Bachelors degree or higher | 77.0 | 77.5 | 67.4 | 61.1 |
NOTE: The survey sample includes the civilian, noninstitutionalized population. Years in which the president is elected, as well as congressional, state, and local officials, are called "presidential elections." Off years, in which congressional, state, and local officials are elected but the president is not, are called "congressional elections." For each year, information was collected from respondents 2 weeks after the election. These estimates may differ from administrative data or data from exit polls.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). The Condition of Education 2003 (NCES 2003�7), Section 2, Table 15-2.Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
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