Veterans are more likely than their non-veteran counterparts to head to the polls in November, according to a civic health report release by a veteran’s empowerment group.
Got Your 6 released the 2016 Veterans Civic Health Index on Thursday. The annual report found that veterans were more engaged in their communities than their non-veteran peers, including in categories like volunteering, giving to charity and voting.
The survey found that 73.8 percent of veterans always or sometimes vote in local elections, compared to just 57.2 percent of non-veterans. Bill Rausch, executive director of Got Your 6, said the numbers should serve as a challenge to civilians to thank a veteran for his or her service with more than just words.
“If Americans want to thank us and if Americans want to get involved, they can do that in a lot of ways,” Rausch said during the report’s launch at SiriusXM radio. “This year, they can vote. They can go get registered to vote. I can’t think of a better way to thank anyone for their service.”
Vets are also more likely to contact or visit elected officials to either ask for help and express an opinion. About 17 percent of veterans have contacted public officials, compared to just 10 percent of those who have never served.
Some of this is self-selecting, since those who volunteer to serve in uniform may be more likely to help improve their communities and volunteer overall. But the trend continues among older veterans who were drafted as well, suggesting that serving in the military teaches people to give back.
Among veterans ages 50 and up, 78.4 percent always or sometimes vote in local elections. That number is 71.2 percent among civilians of the same age.
Some in the veteran community criticized candidates for not mentioning veterans during Monday’s presidential debate, but Rausch said veterans are not a constituency that votes on a single issue. Veterans care about issues important to all Americans, like the economy, jobs and national security, not just reforming the Veterans Affairs Department, he said.
“We vote in really high numbers and the VA isn’t our number one issue,” Rausch said.
