The Science of Voting: Coursetaking, Literacy, and Behavior

Postsecondary science education is often viewed as supporting the nation’s economic competitiveness and individual social mobility. Yet science literacy also helps voters be more informed about policy issues involving climate change, global pandemics, vaccines and preventive health, and women’s reproductive health. This article analyzes a nationally representative sample of adults from the 2016 U.S. Scientific Literacy Study to show that taking postsecondary science classes positively correlates with science literacy as it relates to climate change. Although climate science literacy was not related to voter turnout in the 2016 primary or general election, it did relate to candidate choice.