Vote—It’s Good for Our Healthcare System & Your A-Fib Health!

Updated; First published Oct. 1, 2022

Atrial Fibrillation patients, did you know voting improves your health? There is a high level of correlation between people who are engaged in voting and better health outcomes, according to Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.

Daniel Dawes, JD of Morehouse School of Medicine, agrees and points to the Health & Democracy Index. It shows that when communities vote, they influence policy decisions that have a big effect on their health. For many people in your community, voting outcomes can mean the difference between life and death, health, and sickness. The crucial act of voting immeasurably affects our lives, including our personal health and the overall health of our community.

Why Don’t People Vote

It’s estimated that 21.4% of eligible U.S. citizens aren’t registered to vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Voting and Registration Supplement. That’s over 73 million citizens.

Increasing voter registrations is a fundamental way to improve our healthcare system.

The main reason? Not being registered.

Increasing voter registrations is a fundamental way to improve our healthcare system.

Far and away the most effective way to register new voters is when they visit their local motor vehicles department (DMV). Of new voter registrations, the DMV is the most popular (40%), second is online registration (30%).

Automatic Voter Registration?

What about people who don’t drive? Or the young, or students who don’t have access, or need a vehicle, or are disabled?

By Feb. 2024, about half U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have enacted or implemented automatic voter registration .

One way to register these people would be automatic voter registration at Medicare and other public assistant and disability programs like food stamps.

As of February 12, 2024, about half U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have enacted or implemented automatic voter registration.

Automatic voter registration (AVR) is a process in which eligible individuals are automatically registered to vote when interacting with certain government agencies, such as a department of motor vehicles (but it is not compulsory).

A-Fib Doctors: Encourage Your Patients to Register and Vote

How doctors can help.

If you are a doctor treating an A-Fib patient, go beyond the exam room. Patients look to you for advice on how to live a more healthful life. Talk to them about their civic health and engagement, and how registering and voting will improve their health.

For help to get your patients registered, go to Vot-er.org, an organization that connects healthcare institutions and clinicians with voter registration tools.

The Easy Way to Register to Vote

It’s easy to register.

• Visit Vote.gov. Enter the state you live in, and the site can help you register online (Forty-three states, Washington, D.C., and Guam offer online registration.); (Vote.gov. is an official website of the United States government.)

• An alternative is offered by Register2Vote. Using both online and US mail, they offer a simple tool to confirm, update, and register to vote. No printers or stamps required. (Register2Vote is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3).)

• Vote.org offers “Find everything you need to vote in your state election centers”; (Vote.org is the largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan voting registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) technology platform in America.)

Why to Register and Vote

It doesn’t always feel that our vote makes a difference. But voting gives us a voice—especially in local and state elections. When you vote, you select individuals to make decisions about the community you live in on your behalf.

Are you not sure if you are registered to vote? Or do you need to change your registration? Go to https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration

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