Georgians political action measures increased, while social connectedness and community involvement declined.
The 2023 Georgia Civic Health Index (CHI) examines civic engagement measures and explores the way Georgians interact with each other, their communities, and in political life under four main areas of civic health: social connectedness, community involvement, political action, and confidence in institutions.
The third edition of the report was published in December by the Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP), the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), Georgia City Solutions, and the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC).
Although Georgia continues to struggle with its civic health, lagging the national averages across most measures, the state measures on par or better than the rest of the nation in eight indicators, which suggests promising opportunities for our state.
Here are some key takeaways:
- While data show an increase in voting rates from 2017 to 2021, Georgians’ social connectedness and community involvement measures declined.
- Georgia ranks lowest in the nation in frequently talking with or spending time with neighbors and frequently reading, watching, or listening to news or information about political, societal, or local issues.
- Only 7.7% of Georgians reported they frequently do favors for neighbors compared to 10% nationally.
- While Georgia ranked 37th in the nation for voter registration and voting in the 2019 edition of the CHI, our state ranks 33rd in voter registration and 29th in voting in the 2023 report.
- Though our national ranking improved, the percent of registered voters increased only slightly from 69.4% in 2017 to 70.7% in 2021.
- Georgia ranked 35th in the nation in contacting public officials—up from 49th in the 2019 CHI.
- 8.2 percent of Georgia’s residents report attending a public meeting, which ranks our state 32nd in the nation.