Can Voting Help You Live Longer?

A new study finds that older voters’ risk of dying within the next five years was cut by 45 percent

Miriam Cross,

AARP

Comments

Published May 04, 2026

George Frey/Getty Images

Key takeaways

The study followed thousands of older adults for up to 15 years after a single election.
Lower mortality risk among voters held across income, health, party choice and voting method.
Researchers suggest feelings of purpose, connection or hope may help explain the link.

Bill Welborne, 92, has been voting for as long as he can remember. When the former Tuskegee Airman was stationed in the South in the 1940s, he realized that not all Black Americans could vote as easily as he could in Michigan.

“Voting makes me feel good, like I’m doing something good for my country and my neighborhood,” says Welborne, who lives in Detroit and still drives himself to the polls. “It makes me feel like I put the right people in.”

Older voters already flock to the polls in higher numbers than younger generations do. It turns out this action may help them live longer too.

Older adults who filled out ballots for the 2008 presidential election had a lower risk of dying, compared with nonvoters, as the years went by, according to a March 2026 study published in The Journals of Gerontology. The study authors found this was true regardless of a voter’s income, health, which party they favored or whether they submitted a ballot by mail or in person.

Join Our Fight to Make Sure Your Vote Counts

AARP is a nonpartisan organization that never supports or opposes candidates for office. We believe the right to vote is fundamental, and we advocate for policies ensuring that Americans 50 and older can exercise that right without unnecessary barriers. Here’s what you can do to help:

Learn more about voting in your state this year.
Pledge to vote for candidates in 2026 who will protect and strengthen Social Security and support family caregivers.
Sign up to become an AARP activist for the latest news and alerts on issues you care about.
AARP is your fierce defender on the issues that matter to people 50-plus. Become a member or renew your membership today.

“Voting is a form of civic engagement that is altruistic,” says Femida Handy, a coauthor of the study and a professor of social policy and practice at the University of Pennsylvania. “Unless you believe your vote will change the elections, you’re doing it for the public good. You want your voice heard. Those kinds of acts generally help well-being.”

How voting affects health

Handy decided to study the impact of voting on longevity after being intrigued by the American Medical Association’s 2022 declaration that voting leads to stronger and healthier communities. “But they were promoting voting at the community level,” Handy says. “What happens to the people who vote?”

She and her coauthor, Sara Konrath, an associate professor of philanthropic studies at Indiana University, knew from other research that volunteering has a positive effect on health. The researchers believe that voting is another form of civic engagement — one where older adults know they may not live long enough to see the results of their decisions made in the voting booth.

The two authors analyzed an existing large study of Wisconsin residents who graduated from high school in 1957, which put them at an average age of 69 in 2008. They used data from objective voting records and death records of more than 7,700 respondents in 2013, 2018 and 2023, when participants were 84 years old on average. The authors controlled for other factors that might affect someone’s mortality, such as health or financial resources, and examined whether political affiliation or voting by mail played a part.

Most Popular

They found that even when these factors were considered, those who voted in the 2008 election had a 45 percent lower mortality risk after five years than nonvoters. Voters’ risk of dying was 37 percent lower after 10 years and 29 percent after 15 years.

Handy and Konrath theorize that there could be a biological response to the act of voting that boosts well-being. The social aspect of voting may also provide a sense of belonging and connection.

Looking toward the future is one thing that motivates Lou Childs, 68, to exercise this civic duty.

“I care about our country. I want to do all I can for the generations to come,” says Childs, who lives in Milledgeville, Georgia. She has six children, three stepchildren and 16 grandchildren and step-grandchildren. “It means a lot to me to do all I can for their future.”

The mere act of voting is the key to a lower mortality risk, the researchers found. “You feel some hope for the future,” Handy says.

But Childs is taking her involvement a step further by volunteering with a nonpartisan organization and educating state residents about the importance of primary elections.

“It makes me feel like my brain is still active, which is good for someone my age,” she says. “I’m doing something good for the community.”

%{postComment}%

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Miriam Cross is a writer for AARP covering advocacy issues. She previously worked at American Banker and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.