Participation in community and political meetings, community events, and voting are civic duties.

Despite the important social and other benefits participation in groups provides, attendance in formal organizations is generally not high.(30) Group participation nationally, as measured by attendance at a group or organization meeting, was slightly more than 27%. In New York, 27.5% of residents reported some group activity compared with 33.3% nationally.(31) The state ranked 47th on this Civic Health indicator.(32)

Of the five STRID components, the Duty score of 32 as a percent of the possible is the lowest. Virtually unchanged from last year, the score demonstrates that New Yorkers tend not to attend civic meetings and not to join the organizations that provide the civic glue of society. As with all STRID components an increasing score in Duty which would result from New Yorkers attending, joining, and participating in civic groups and organization would enhance overall civic health.

Fifty-five percent of residents say they have not attended a single public meeting in which there was a discussion of town or school affairs in the last year. Eleven percent attended a meeting once and about a third more often than that. Even fewer, 70%, did not attend a single political meeting or rally over the past 12 months.

While many simply may not choose to attend such meetings and feel they are able to stay informed and participate in local affairs in their own way, it remains striking that 45% of state residents say they have not attended any club, organization or community meeting of any kind over the last year. Still, one in four say they have attended some club or organization meeting at least once a month over the past year.

Again, using the STRID framework, it is likely that simply attending club or organization meetings results in the growth of civic health as Social, Trust, Information and Responsibility components may also be enhanced from attendance at local clubs and organizations.
Attendance is greater at informal events, such as community events including carnivals or cultural events, to which only 19% say they never attend, while 41% attend religious services on at least a monthly basis.

SRI’s data is validated by the CPS. The CPS asked whether New Yorkers had attended a public meeting; 8.8% reported having attended at least one in the last year ranking New York State 33rd in the nation. In addition, New York ranks 47th for group involvement with 28% responding yes to group involvement. The most popular groups to be involved in are church and religious groups (14%) and school groups (11%).

Voting: In 2010, the voter registration rate among eligible citizens in New York was 63.8%.(33)



With the national registration rate at 65.1%, New York ranked 36th in the country. Voter turnout in New York for the November 2010 election was 43.6%, ranking the state at 37th in the country. Nationally, the voter turnout was 45.5%.

New Yorkers with higher family income and higher educational attainment were more likely to vote. Only 33.7% of New Yorkers with less than a high school education voted, which is more than 20 percentage points less than college graduates.(34) Young New Yorkers aged 18-29 were about half as likely (28.2%) to vote than those aged 30 or older (49.4%).

Compared to other western industrialized nations, low voter turnout has plagued the United States for many years. Although the solution is not easily found, the relationship to Trust (in government) is certainly clear. It remains somewhat puzzling that nearly 90% of New Yorkers indicate that the state is in either fair or poor fiscal health, but in statewide elections fewer than 50% of registered voters turn out to the polls.

Many reasons may explain comparatively low voter turnout in either the United States or in New York. However, if voters do not trust their government to either understand their needs or to be actively involved in responding to those needs, it follows that some citizens will not see voting as worthwhile. Conversely, as trust in government increases, it follows that voters will turn out in greater numbers as they will see a connection between their participation and the response of their elected officials.