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Many studies document an association between schooling and civic participation, but none credibly investigate causal links. We explore the effect of extra schooling induced through compulsory schooling laws on the likelihood of becoming politically involved in the United States and the United Kingdom. We find that educational attainment is related to several measures of political interest and involvement in both countries. We find a strong and robust relationship between education and voting for the United States, but not for the United Kingdom. Our US results approach the UK findings when conditioning on registration, possibly indicating that registration rules present a barrier to participation.