Results of a Voter Registration Project at 2 Family Medicine Residency Clinics in the Bronx, New York

In Brief

Results of a Voter Registration Project at 2 Family Medicine Residency Clinics in the Bronx, New York

Alisha Liggett , and colleagues

Background Low voter turnout is a challenge in US elections. Disparities among voters is especially great among individuals who are likely to receive care at federally qualified health centers. This study develops a nonpartisan, clinician-led, voter registration initiative in two federally qualified health centers prior to the 2012 presidential election.

What This Study Found During a 12-week period, the initiative sought to register clinic patients to vote by engaging them in clinic waiting areas. Volunteers directly engaged with a total of 304 patients. Of the 128 patients who were eligible and not currently registered, 114 (89 percent) registered to vote through the project. Sixty-five percent of new registrants were younger than 40 years of age and nearly half of new voters were re-registrants because of changes in demographics, highlighting barriers in the current voter registration process.

Implications

• Clinics can help bring a voice to civically disenfranchised communities. In communities with high levels of socioeconomic stress, the authors suggest, easing access to voter services becomes increasingly important.
• This project demonstrates how health care professionals can address broader social determinants of health through clinic interventions. If health centers step up their role in community civic activism, the authors conclude, they can act as powerful vehicles for bringing a voice to communities underrepresented in the electoral process.