FACT SHEET

The Union of Concerned Scientists asserts that the United States has the lowest electoral integrity among advanced industrial democracies, which undermines the ability to create science-based policies. The report links voter suppression and gerrymandering to poor public health and environmental outcomes, citing examples in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Texas. It advocates for reforms such as automatic voter registration, nonpartisan redistricting, and public campaign financing to reduce the influence of 'dark money' and corporate interests on government decision-making.

• The United States is identified as having the lowest level of electoral integrity among advanced industrial democracies.
• There is a correlation between voter disenfranchisement and poor environmental and health outcomes; specifically, in 2016, nearly two-thirds of US congressional districts with above-average air pollution had below-average voter turnout.
• The document cites several US states where electoral issues coincided with environmental or health crises: Georgia (groundwater contamination), Michigan (Flint lead exposure), North Carolina (coal ash disasters and banning scientific review of sea level rise), North Dakota (voter ID requirements affecting Indigenous peoples protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline), and Texas (allegations of voter fraud used to justify purging).
• The influence of 'dark money' and industry-funded misinformation can defeat science-informed policy, as seen in Washington State where the fossil fuel industry spent nearly $30 million on ads to defeat a carbon fee proposal.
• The United States' global ranking for corruption has declined, falling out of the top 20 least corrupt governments for the first time since data collection began, dropping four points in 2018.
• The report advocates for several legislative reforms to protect democracy and science, including the For the People Act of 2019, the Corporate Political Disclosure Act of 2019, and the Next Generation Votes Act of 2019.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2019). FACT SHEET. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/04/fighting-corruption-promoting-evidence.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. FACT SHEET. 2019. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/04/fighting-corruption-promoting-evidence.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=FACT SHEET |date=April 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/04/fighting-corruption-promoting-evidence.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2019fact, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{FACT SHEET}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/04/fighting-corruption-promoting-evidence.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }