Massachusetts Tops States in Political Involvement, Study Shows

Massachusetts is considered the most politically engaged state based on a study by the personal finance social networkWalletHub.

Despite Massachusetts being the most involved state, the amount of political engagement in the United States has been decreasing since the 1960s, WalletHub reported.

There was a record-low voter turnout at the 15 of the first 25 statewide primary elections this year.

Only 14.8 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots this year, compared to 18.3 percent of voters in 2010 midterm elections, according to UPI.

That means about 18.2 million ballots were cast out of nearly 122.8 million eligible voters.

To figure out which states are the most politically engaged, the report analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on:

• Percentage of registered voters in the 2012 presidential election
• Percentage of citizens who voted in the 2010 midterm elections
• Percentage of citizens who voted in the 2012 presidential election
• Change in percentage of citizens who voted in the 2012 elections compared with the 2008 elections
• Total political contributions per adult population
• Civic education engagement

Massachusetts was ranked fifth for percent of registered voters in the 2012 presidential election, ranked 11th for percent of citizens who voted in the 2010 midterm election and ranked fifth for percent of citizens who voted in the 2012 presidential election.

WalletHub also ranked Massachusetts third for change in percentage of citizens who voted in the 2012 elections compared with the 2008 elections and sixth for total political contributions per adult population.

The next most politically engaged states below Massachusetts are Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin and Maine, respectively.

Check out the full report here.

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