Springfield News–Leader
October 27, 2010
Though Missouri residents are still more likely to vote and volunteer, new data suggests some types of civic participation may be eroding.
A report released Tuesday by Missouri State University and the National Conference on Citizenship looked at several habits to gauge civic participation, including voting, attending community meetings and talking politics with friends and family.
Many indicators suggest that Missouri is still more civilly healthy than most states, but researchers said a lagging economy has played a role in bringing the statistics closer to the national average.
"The gap has been narrowing," said Michael Stout, lead investigator for the Missouri Civic Health Assessment.
Stout said part of the slump in participation is among blue-collar workers affected by declining jobs in manufacturing, construction and transportation.
"Survival always trumps civic engagement," said Rep. Sara Lampe, who was among a few community leaders at a conference that announced the report.
Lampe is a Democrat running for re-election against Republican John Sellars and Independent Steven Reed.
The report’s authors stopped short of making suggestions on how to increase civil participation.
"It’s mostly to get people talking and thinking about issues in a different way," Stout said.
The report released Tuesday was used as part of a national report on civic participation called the Civic Health Index.