Twin and adoption studies have shown that individual differences in political participation can be explained, in part, by genetic variation. However, these research designs cannot identify which genes are related to voting or the pathways through which they exert influence, and their conclusions rely on possibly restrictive assumptions. In this study, we use three different US samples and a Swedish sample to test whether genes that have been identified as associated with educational attainment, one of the strongest correlates of political participation, predict self-reported and validated voter turnout. We find that a polygenic score capturing individuals’ genetic propensity to acquire education is significantly related to turnout. The strongest associations we observe are in second-order midterm elections in the United States and European Parliament elections in Sweden, which tend to be viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the media and thus present a more information-poor electoral environment for citizens to navigate. A within-family analysis suggests that individuals’ education-linked genes directly affect their voting behavior, but, for second-order elections, it also reveals evidence of genetic nurture. Finally, a mediation analysis suggests that educational attainment and cognitive ability combine to account for between 41% and 63% of the relationship between the genetic propensity to acquire education and voter turnout.

双胞胎和收养研究表明，政治参与的个体差异可以部分解释为遗传变异。然而，这些研究设计无法确定哪些基因与投票相关或它们发挥影响的途径，并且他们的结论依赖于可能的限制性假设。在这项研究中，我们使用三个不同的美国样本和一个瑞典样本来测试已被确定为与受教育程度相关的基因（政治参与的最强相关因素之一）是否可以预测自我报告和经过验证的选民投票率。我们发现，捕捉个人接受教育的遗传倾向的多基因评分与投票率显着相关。我们观察到的最强关联出现在美国的二阶中期选举和瑞典的欧洲议会选举中，选民、政党和媒体往往认为这些选举不那么重要，因此为选举提供了一个信息更匮乏的选举环境。公民导航。家庭内部分析表明，个人的教育相关基因直接影响他们的投票行为，但对于二级选举，它也揭示了遗传培育的证据。最后，一项中介分析表明，受教育程度和认知能力在受教育的遗传倾向与选民投票率之间的关系中占 41% 至 63%。和媒体，从而为公民提供了一个信息更加匮乏的选举环境。家庭内部分析表明，个人的教育相关基因直接影响他们的投票行为，但对于二级选举，它也揭示了遗传培育的证据。最后，一项中介分析表明，受教育程度和认知能力在受教育的遗传倾向与选民投票率之间的关系中占 41% 至 63%。和媒体，从而为公民提供了一个信息更加匮乏的选举环境。家庭内部分析表明，个人的教育相关基因直接影响他们的投票行为，但对于二级选举，它也揭示了遗传培育的证据。最后，一项中介分析表明，受教育程度和认知能力在受教育的遗传倾向与选民投票率之间的关系中占 41% 至 63%。