“Many people don't have the time to act on the information they acquire.” — Civic Literacy Summit participant

The degree to which citizens participate actively in our democratic form of government is one of the important measures of civic health.

At the most basic level, one key measure of political action is voting — both registering to vote and actually making it to the polls and casting a ballot. The strength of our democracy depends on people of all ages and backgrounds being politically engaged enough to go to the polls and vote for the candidates they think will best represent their interests and perspectives.

But that is not the only kind of political action.

The civic health of a community is further strengthened when citizens actively participate beyond just voting — by attending meetings, communicating directly with office holders and elected ofcials, or by expressing their opinions about political issues in letters to the editor, on neighborhood email lists, and blogs.

Maryland ranked 11th in voter turnout among 18 and older citizens for the November 2008 election, with a turnout rate of 68.3% for the same population. Maryland's voter turnout has increased by three percentage points compared with the average turnout of the 2004 Presidential election. The national voter turnout for citizens 18 and over was 63.6% for the November 2008 election. Voter turnout in the United States rises and falls, but continues to rank consistently below the level of turnout in other well–established democratic countries. For example, according to the International Institute for Democratic Assistance, Western European democracies have maintained an average voter turnout of 77% since 1945. 5

Maryland's Baby Boomers are most likely to have voted, while Millennials are least likely. Almost three quarters (74.4%) of Maryland Baby Boomers voted in the Presidential election in 2008, while just over half (55.5%) of Millennials voted.

While Maryland ranks in the top third for voter turnout, many community–conversation participants believe that voting rates should be much higher. “I think it's embarrassing how low our voter rates are, especially for young people,” said one participant. Another countered, “It could be better, but it could be a lot worse.”

Maryland ranked 18th among all states in voter registration rate, at 73.9%. The national voter registration rate in 2008 was 71.0%. Maryland's voter registration rate has remained relatively stable compared to the registration rate of the last Presidential election in 2004.

Maryland women are more likely than men to be registered and to have voted. More than three quarters of women (77.1%) say they are registered and 71.5% say they voted in the 2008 Presidential election. For Maryland men, 70.3% are registered and just 64.6% say they voted in 2008.

Among those who registered, turnout was relatively high in Maryland (as it is nationally). More than nine out of ten registered voters (92.3%) voted in 2008, compared with 89.6% nationally.

However, some make the argument that voting is really the least to expect of a citizen. Other kinds of political actions are of great importance, too.

The Civic Health Index looks at these other political actions: contacting or visiting a public official, attending meetings where issues are discussed, buying or boycotting a product for political reasons, taking part in a march or rally, or showing support for a particular candidate by donating or volunteering.

Maryland ranks 24th in the percentage of people 18 and older who say they have engaged in at least one type of political act in the prior 12 months, at 28.0%. Nationally, 26.3% of Americans 18 and older engaged in at least one type of political act.

From the Civic Literacy Summit:
Participants at the Civic Literacy Summit made recommendations focused on improving the frequency and quality of actions beyond voting. Their focus was primarily on young people as the place where policies would have the highest leverage.

The Summit workgroup on political participation made these recommendations:

• Teach civic skills (dialogue, making decisions as a group, bringing people together) better in the early grades

• Better support citizen, especially youth, involvement in political activity and community issues

• Publicly reinforce ways and means of political action in the home and community (like voting with your kids, talking issues and politics at dinner, etc.) through public service announcements, billboards, public statements of ofcials, media outlets, etc.