- Only 46.8% of eligible voters cast ballots in Utah's 2022 midterm election.
- Utah's HB381 raises the required number of social studies credits and adds a government class.
- 20 of Utah's 29 counties had 2026 primary turnout below 50%.
In Utah’s previous midterm election in 2022, only 46.8% of eligible voters cast a ballot. Less than half all Utahns accepted their civic responsibility to go out and vote. Utah was roughly the middle of all 50 states when it came to voter turnout.
Do Americans think midterms don’t matter? History has shown how important voting in midterm elections can be. In 2014, the race for Utah’s 4th congressional district was tight between candidates Mia Love and Doug Owens. Love was able to narrowly beat Owens and win the seat, yet only 28.8% of Utahns cast their ballot.
Are Americans’ decisions not to vote tied to a lack of civic awareness and education? Civics is the study of how government works and the rights, duties and responsibilities of citizens in society. One component of civics in the United States includes moral expectations and legal guidelines that dictate our behaviors. Civics education is particularly important as we approach voting age and begin actively participating in governmental functions.
Could more sufficient civics education help increase voter turnout?
In Utah, most students take a course that includes instruction on government and citizenship. Students are also required to pass a basic civics test. But is that enough?
Low voter turnout is one suggestion that this basic civics education is insufficient. If citizens truly understood how important civic responsibilities were, wouldn’t they turn out in elections throughout the state? Is something missing in civics curriculum for students in Utah? In the United States?
Fortunately, in the 2025 legislative session, Utah’s House of Representatives passed HB381 (Civics Education Amendments), which updates the high school graduation requirements starting with the 2027-2028 school year. The social studies requirements will change from 3.0 to 3.5 credits, with a 1.0 credit requirement dedicated to a government class.
Being governed by the will of the people is a fundamental principle of our democracy; using our right to vote means outcomes reflect the people.
This new class — “American Constitutional Government and Citizenship” — is a step in the right direction for improving civics education. With an extra semester, teachers will now have time to teach both constitutional government and citizenship. Students will learn more about state and local politics and citizens’ opportunities — to vote, serve on juries, participate in caucuses and be civically engaged.
Other states have already passed similar legislation. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, public high school students in Idaho will be required to take one full year of American government alongside other requirements. Still, fewer than 10 states across the country require at least one year of civics education and the passing of a standard civics test.
The new Utah course requires students to read from multiple, diverse primary sources to teach about important political and civic events in our nation’s history. As a graduate student in UVU’s new MA in Constitutional Government, Civics, and Law, I spend hours each week reading through dozens of primary sources. In this way, I have learned more than reading a textbook with a summarized version of history. Primary sources have taught me more about how people thought and felt during the times they wrote these documents. This insight is invaluable, and a textbook cannot replicate this kind of information.
Voter turnout matters in every election
If this new curriculum works as intended, it may help increase voter turnout in all of Utah’s elections, especially the oft-neglected midterm elections. We hope that as the new graduation requirements roll out, recent trends in midterm election turnout improve.
So far this year, the trend is not positive. In the 2026 Utah primary elections, voter turnout varied from county to county, but 20 out of 29 counties had a turnout rate of less than 50% (Tooele County was lowest, at 22%). Will turnout be any better in midterms? It depends on what we choose to do in the next few days!
Utahns must take their civic responsibilities seriously. Being governed by the will of the people is a fundamental principle of our democracy; using our right to vote means outcomes reflect the people. We must act; we must participate. Utah’s new “American Constitutional Government and Citizenship” class is a good start to improving and re-energizing our current civics education.
As we continue improving our civic education, we also need to encourage our friends, family, and other Americans to get involved civically, especially voting. As the 2026 midterm elections approach, let’s get out, vote, and fulfill our civic responsibilities.