Although the genetic influence on voter turnout is substantial (typically 40–50%), the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Across the social sciences, research suggests that ‘resources for politics’ (as indexed notably by educational attainment and intelligence test performance) constitute a central cluster of factors that predict electoral participation. Educational attainment and intelligence test performance are heritable. This suggests that the genotypes that enhance these phenotypes could positively predict turnout. To test this, we conduct a genome-wide complex trait analysis of individual-level turnout. We use two samples from the Danish iPSYCH case–cohort study, including a nationally representative sample as well as a sample of individuals who are particularly vulnerable to political alienation due to psychiatric conditions (n = 13,884 and n = 33,062, respectively). Using validated individual-level turnout data from the administrative records at the polling station, genetic correlations and Mendelian randomization, we show that there is a substantial genetic overlap between voter turnout and both educational attainment and intelligence test performance.

尽管遗传对选民投票率的影响很大（通常为 40-50%），但其潜在机制仍不清楚。在整个社会科学领域，研究表明“政治资源”（特别是通过教育程度和智力测试表现指数）构成了预测选举参与的核心因素。教育程度和智力测验成绩是可遗传的。这表明增强这些表型的基因型可以积极预测投票率。为了测试这一点，我们对个体水平的投票率进行了全基因组复杂性状分析。我们使用了来自丹麦 iPSYCH 病例队列研究的两个样本，包括一个具有全国代表性的样本以及一个因精神病而特别容易受到政治疏远的个人样本（分别为 n  = 13,884 和n  = 33,062）。使用来自投票站行政记录、遗传相关性和孟德尔随机化的经过验证的个人级别投票率数据，我们表明选民投票率与教育程度和智力测试表现之间存在大量遗传重叠。