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State Avg. VAP 1 Minnesota 69.32%2 Maine 67.09%3 Wisconsin 65.81%4 Montana 64.01%5 Iowa 63.19%6 South Dakota 62.81%7 North Dakota 61.93%8 Vermont 61.89%9 New Hampshire 61.48%10 Oregon 61.24%
State Avg. SAT1 Colorado 245.082 Illinois 232.13 Massachusetts 223.964 Minnesota 213.125 Connecticut 212.546 Ohio 207.087 Kansas 205.488 New York 201.969 Wisconsin 200.26
10 Nebraska 199.84
State Avg. SAT41 California 138.1242 North Carolina 134.9443 Arkansas 134.2244 Texas 133.9645 Louisiana 133.6446 New Mexico 13247 West Virginia 127.1248 South Carolina 123.8449 Arizona 115.3250 Mississippi 99.48
Academic Achievement and Voter Turnout
Acknowledgements
Kelly Depew [email protected]
I deeply appreciate the generous counsel of Government Associate Professor Sean Theriault, and Michelle Whyman.
Contact Information
Introduction Geographic Distribution of Voter Turnout
Performance Rankings
Highest Voter Turnout
Measures
Is there a relationship between educational achievement and voter turnout? Examining 30 years of voter turnout and 10 years of college entrance exam performance, we can see certain patterns in participation and success, which can enrich our understanding of education’s role in democracy.
Tables below display state rankings of average state performance in education and voting participation. States in orange rank similarly in both categories of data.
Highest Education Ach.
State Avg. VAP 41 Arkansas 49.57%42 West Virginia 49.18%43 New York 48.57%44 California 47.02%45 South Carolina 45.76%46 Arizona 45.53%47 Georgia 45.53%48 Texas 44.63%49 Nevada 43.90%50 Hawaii 42.60%
Lowest Education Ach.
Educational Achievement
Voter Turnout
Per 1,000 high school grads, total # of students who scored in 80th Percentile on SAT or ACT
> 25 on the ACT> 1780 on the SAT
Avg SAT: Average from 1999-2007
Map: Statewide Voting Age Population turnout % for all federal election years in each state.
Below: VAP% for only presidential election years in each state.
Avg VAP: Average cumulated from all elections from 1980-2012
State Voter Turnout Profiles
Lowest Voter Turnout
State Educational Achievement Profiles
Lowest Ten StatesHighest Ten States2012 Presidential Vote
7 Democrat, 3 Republican
Total Electoral Votes53
US Congressional Seats 26
2012 Presidential Vote5 Democrat, 5 Republican
Total Electoral Votes187
US Congressional Seats 143
Lowest Ten StatesHighest Ten States2012 Presidential Vote
8 Democrat, 2 Republican
Total Electoral Votes125
US Congressional Seats 105
Average Lacking Basic Prose Literacy Skills10%
2012 Presidential Vote2 Democrat, 8 Republican
Total Electoral Votes158
US Congressional Seats 138
Average Lacking Basic Prose Literacy Skills16%
The points below display the correlation between avg. educational achievement measures from 1999-2007 v. avg. presidential election voter turnout from 1980-2012.
The map below displays the average, from 1980-2012, of each state’s total voter turnout rate for each federal election year. The darkest states vote the highest 25%, with each lighter shade showing lower rates. White states are the 25% with the lowest turnout.
Correlation
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.750
50
100
150
200
250
300
Average Voter Turnout Rate
Aver
age
Educ
ation
al A
chie
vem
ent
The correlation is positive .5476, which suggests that high educational achievement could be associated with high voter turnout rates.
Further Study I plan to develop this project into my honors thesis, as this relationship is subject to a variety of political, racial, socioeconomic, historical, and cultural influences that contribute to success in both the classroom and the voting booth. I plan to further research these factors, and welcome your suggestions.
ConclusionsThe factors that cause both voting and academic success will need to be further investigated, but to sum, I have identified:
• Disparities in political influence and participation:
- Considering the “lowest” column cumulative facts, states who vote less and academically perform less compared with the rest of the country garner more political power.
• Interesting party relationship in educational achievement:
- The highest academically performing states are mostly Democrat- affiliated, while lowest academically performing are mostly Republican-affiliated.
