Barriers to Voting in 2020 Among Resident Physicians
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J Gen Intern Med DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06308-w © Society of General Internal Medicine 2020
INTRODUCTION
Physicians are less likely to vote than the general population,1 but there is no description of specific barriers to voting that physicians encounter.
METHODS
We conducted a single-center, cross-sectional survey of resident physicians across 8 of the largest specialties at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from May 1 to June 30, 2020, to better understand voting practices. Investigators reached out to Chief Residents of various specialties (see Table 1) to assess interest in participating. The survey was paired with verifying voter registration status and assisting physicians in registering to vote. We organized virtual outreach events during times when the majority of resident physicians were available (i.e., during mandatory teaching conferences). Our primary outcome was voting barriers in the 2020 election. We used a five-point Likert scale to rate four common barriers: voter registration, logistical hurdles (when or where to vote), time, and psychological (perception that one’s vote does not count).2 We calculated the proportions of physicians who cited each barrier using Microsoft Excel and used Cochran’s Q test to detect the difference between barriers, including pairwise comparisons. Secondary outcomes were self-reported voter registration and voter participation, the percent eligible to vote who voted in the last 4 elections (2016 presidential, 2018 midterm, 2019 local, and 2020 primary). UT Southwestern IRB deemed the study exempt. Informed consent was obtained prior to beginning the survey.
RESULTS
We reached out to 464 resident physicians, and 187 (40%) completed the survey. Of the respondents, 12 (6.4%) were ineligible to vote due to non-US citizenship. Of the 175 eligible voters, mean age was 29 years with 52% males, 43% were married. A majority (51%) identified as nonReceived September 18, 2020 Accepted October 7, 2020
Hispanic Caucasian. Internal medicine (37%) was the most common specialty (Table 1). Time was the most commonly cited barrier (61%) to voting in the 2020 election and was significantly higher than each other barrier (P < 0.001 for all pairwise comparisons, Fig. 1). Twenty-three percent reported psychological barriers, 14% logistical hurdles, and 4% voter registration. Forty-six individuals (26%) cited multiple barriers. Nearly all respondents (96%) reported active voter registration with 89% voter participation in 2016. Voter participation in 2018 was lower (69%), declined further in 2019 (36%), and was 45% for the 2020 primary election (Table 1).
DISCUSSION
This is the first report of barriers to voting for physicians. In this diverse sample of resident physicians, the majority cited long work hours as a significant barrier to voting in the 2020 election. Nearly one-fourth reported feeling their individual vote lacked impact. While our results are from a single center, our sample Table 1 Demographics of Resident Physicians Eligible to Vote Residents (n = 175)
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