Studies show that the young voter bloc (age 18-25) rarely votes. Why is this? What can be done to increase voter turnout? This post will close on 5/9 at 5:00 PM. Be sure to review the rubric on how points are earned.
Where Discussion Lives
One of the main reasons that the young voter bloc rarely votes is because of low political engagement, most young people aren’t vary connected to politics or think that their vote doesn’t matter. To increase the voter turnout of this age group candidates can do more things to appeal to them like engaging with social media like TikTok or Instagram or appear at college campuses where these young people are very active.
Social media is a great way to engage young people in politics! The only concern there is the circulation of possibly false or defaming posts about political candidates. However, social media is overall a solid way to engage young people through something that they are already engaging with.
I think that the young voter bloc rarely votes because of the idea that their vote “doesn’t matter.” I think they haven’t educated themselves enough into politics to be able to make informed decisions on who they vote for on top of being too young to see how politics really work. I think to increase voter turnout, the government could provide and push out more informative information regarding politics to help inform and educate the voters while also allowing them to make educated decisions and motivate them to vote.
I agree that young voters don’t always believe that their vote matters. A lot of times they don’t understand how politics affects them.
I agree that people think their vote doesn’t matter. Just think how different an election could be if all of the people with that mindset went and voted. There would be so many more votes and you never know which way they would lean.
Absolutely. I even fell victim to this idea myself, but it is not as much the reason that I didn’t vote, it was the Post-hoc justification I made. As for the solution that the government could push out more informative information, I totally agree. A lot of the info that the government gives out is hidden behind their actual intentions.
Young voters (ages 18–25) often don’t turn out because they feel disconnected from politics or think their vote doesn’t matter. Many also face barriers like confusing registration, being away at college, or lacking time and transportation. To improve turnout, schools should provide more civic education, and states could make voting easier through early voting, mail-in ballots, or even making Election Day a holiday. When young people understand how policies impact their lives, they’re more likely to participate.
I agree, I feel that younger votes don’t see the value in voting and how much of an impact their vote has in the election. What barriers can come with Election Day being a national holiday and can we use the day to encourage people to vote in elections?
Young voters (ages 18-25) rarely vote because they often feel disconnected from politics, lack information about how to vote, or believe their vote wont make a difference. Many are also first time voters who face logistical challenges like registering or find polling places. To increase turnout, schools could offer education, make registration easier, and promote social media campaigns that show how young voices matter.
I completely agree with everything you said. The lack of information about how to vote along with the disconnection from politics keeps young voters astray from voting and keeping our democracy.
The young voter block most likely does not engage in voting because they may lack ample political knowledge or feel that their vote is insignificant. Many young people are not active in politics as teenagers due to their interests lying elsewhere. They cannot vote prior to the age of 18 and therefore may be aware of politics but are unable to be active in them. As a result, many young people are passive towards politics for much of their early life. To increase voter turnout, making readily available resources for young voters or more easily digestible might be a great way to introduce people to candidates. Getting kids involved in the basics of government from an early age, such as through websites or educational videos may also foster an earlier interest in government that will hopefully blossom as kids mature and are eventually able to vote.
Completely agree. I believe I’ve heard both of the reasons you stated for people not engaging in voting in real life. I think making readily available resources for young voters would be a great idea.
Agreed it is likely that people who are not involved in something may never get involved in it for their inexperience will add deterrence that will add onto other commitments that will prevent people from entering so teaching and making politics easier to understand will pave the way for newbies to politics and likely get them to enter or try it
I think that younger voters feel ill-informed about politics and feel that it’s much harder to understand. If media literacy and a wide understanding of politics were introduced, it would boost the confidence in young voters exponentially.
Agreed politics in a difficult subject to understand and it is always in constant motion and change making it complex and difficult for new people to enter and understand, adding onto the mention fact that it is poorly taught, the younger generation will be distanced from voting from lack of completion and confidence, another thing is that potential voters may fear voting as they don’t understand it and see it as foreign and unknown since they don’t experience it or know how to properly vote.
A reason the young voter bloc rarely votes is likely because they are rarely connected to politics and so are ill informed and believe they don’t matter or doesn’t affect them. A way to increase voter turnout could be to have them engage in some form of voting similar to real voting early on and properly inform them of the effects of voting as well as current events from a unbiased point of view.
I agree in that young voters need to be informed on how voting can impact current events. If people feel disconnected from politics, increasing the awareness of the importance of voting in making change and representing the views of the nation correctly can greatly increase turnout.
I had a similar point of view about needing to connect better with young audiences. However, I think campaigning directly towards that age demographic will increase participation more then voter simulation.
Young voters often don’t vote because they don’t actively feel how the government affects them. They may feel like voting does not matter. To increase turnout, schools could do a better job of illustrating how voting can directly affect an individuals life. The schools can also make a commitment to lowering barriers to voting.
I agree that school can do a better job in informing the importance of voting to younger people.
I agree that schools should teach kids about voting. I think that they don’t vote because they were never informed about it.
Younger voters tend to not vote, because with so much political advertisement and criticism spread throughout the internet it can seem overwhelming to have to pick a side. The polarization of politics as of late can make it seem pointless and doltish for someone not yet involved to follow suit with what he or she is seeing, and thus a disconnection from politics occurs where people just choose to not involve themselves at all.
This voter block does not have great voter turnout because they lack knowledge of politics. Many of them are unsure of what different policies mean and how they are effected by them. People of this age also believe that there vote does not matter. When you think about how many voters there are in U.S. one vote doesn’t seem like it would do anything, but as people mature they realize that there vote really does matter. In order to increase voter turnout schools should be required to teach and inform students about the importance of voting and go over policies that they struggle to comprehend. The students being taught should be primarily seniors because they are the ones who are turning 18 and registering to vote.
I agree that young voters lack knowledge. What do you think schools could teach that would make young voters turn out more often?
Increasing awareness about how voting can influence policy and how important it is to put one’s say into elections is a surefire way to increase turnout.
This is an amazing idea! I like how you are focusing the main point to focus on seniors because they need it the most
The young voter bloc from ages 18-25 seems not to participate in voting for various reasons. For instance, they may feel they aren’t educated on certain topics to vote for a candidate or even fall under a political party. Some individuals may feel a pressure from the media or their general surroundings to pick a side. A lot of external sources fabricate, overexaggerate, or push narratives that aren’t accurate to the canidate or party their referring to. Some things that can be done in order to encourage younger voters to participate in elections is by researching on accurate sources and doing research on a certain party’s’ objectives and plans. Through this, younger individuals can verify information they see on external sources and take from what is accurate to make a well-informed decision.
I agree with what you said about not having having any knowledge about the different political parties and which one to fall under because voting so so much pressure already and having to research what political party you have the same views as can be intimidating for freshly 18 year old’s.
Ages 18-25 rarely vote because they don’t the political effects trinkle down to there everyday life. They also usually aren’t aware of the interest groups or political parties that are catering to there needs. So there for they don’t think political elections are relevant to their life. To increase voter turnout political candidates should use mass media sources with a demographic of 18-25 for there election campaigns. Such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, etc.
I agree on how young voters do not fully understand how interest groups or political parties are catering to there needs because they don’t think it is relevant to their life. By using mass media this can help with giving information to start off a persons journey in getting involved in the government. I do believe that there is a sense of overwhelmingness in how much information can be through at a person on the news alone. That a young voter who has never taken the information in before can be scared away by not knowing where to begin on what they believe and what stances other parities take. With all this in mind I believe we should take the use of social media one step further and use it to simplify the beginning process of getting into voting for specifically young voters.
That’s a great point. If young people don’t see how politics affects them directly, they’re less likely to care. Using platforms like TikTok and Instagram is smart because that’s where we spend much of our time. Candidates need to meet us where we are.
The low voter turnout among the young voter bloc (ages 18-25) is because of several factors: Lack of engagement (belief that their votes do not matter), disinterest, barriers to voting (registration difficulties, lack of transportation, or conflicting schedules), and limited political education. Some possible strategies to increase voter turnout would be simplifying registration, incentives for voting like discounts at a store, and education and awareness campaigns in schools.
You made some great points! I especially agree that simplifying registration and improving political education could really help. A lot of young people just aren’t taught how the system works or how to get involved. The idea of offering incentives like discounts is creative too—sometimes a little extra motivation can go a long way in getting people to vote.
Your points certainly make a lot of sense and are very clarifying. I especially agree with your disinterest point. Most people my age that I’ve met have not voted because they simply don’t care for the election or politics, so this point is very relatable and realistic.
People that are in the range of ages 18-25 rarely vote because they aren’t into politics enough to vote. They don’t have a whole lot of knowledge about it and they typically feel like their vote isn’t needed. To increase vote turnouts, candidates and others can post engaging videos or topics about politics on social media. Such as Instagram or TikTok. Younger voters can also look into different sources or candidates that suit their needs and vote for them.
I agree that because younger individuals are more active on social media platforms, that can definitely be used more as a way to promote the election and encourage them to vote. However, I feel that a lot of social media platforms can push false narratives and make it overwhelming to vote. How can we overcome these barriers and make social media an easier place for voters to gain information about voting?
The studies that have shown that young voters are raley voting suggest that there is not enough stressed importance of voting. There are 4 factors to getting a young voter to understand the importance of voting. One starts with the family and having the family help the young voter to register or think about what policies they agree with. Two schools can help with the student understanding the process of how to vote in there state so that it is less intimidating to start. Three, friends and peers can hold other students accountable by asking or reminding others of certain voting days. Furthering engagement between there voter bloc. The fourth is having media institutions run instructions that are clear on how to vote with unbias and clear facts about both sides that are not to complex to understand. Therefore helping young voters to start off with information that otherwise could be to complex for those starting to understand the american government systems to fully ingest. With all these factors working together to get young voters to raise voter engagements surely the transition from not being involved in the government to being involved will have less turbulence in the transition.
Studies show that the young voter bloc (age 18-25) rarely votes. Why is this? What can be done to increase voter turnout?
The young voter bloc does not vote as much because they are historically disinterested in election turnouts. In recent years, Trump has polarized this idea, but before him, most young people didn’t care about who was president. A way we could help change this is by educating the young on what policies are actually on the line. There are political ads, but those only reach a certain demographic of people. It is more important that people point the youth to valid sources of information and to educate them on why they should vote.
I agree with your point that education is key. A lot of young people don’t realize how much policies affect their daily lives. If schools and communities did a better job explaining what’s actually at stake in elections, more young voters might care enough to show up. Also, you’re right that political ads only reach some people—having trusted sources and open discussions could make a big difference.
Young people aged 18–25 don’t vote much because they feel like their vote doesn’t matter, they’re too busy, or they don’t know enough about the process. Some also forget to register or don’t know how to vote. To fix this, schools could teach more about voting, and social media could help spread the word. Making registration easier and showing young people that their vote counts could help increase turnout.
Many young people (18–25) don’t vote because they feel their vote doesn’t matter, don’t understand the process, or are too busy. To increase turnout, we should make voting easier to understand, use social media to spread info, and make it more convenient, like online voting or time off to vote. If young people feel their voices count, more will show up.
The young adult voter bloc (18-25) seems to not be interested in politics due to the policies being presented by both political parties, or the need to vote as they believe their votes will not count. Social media also plays a huge factor as the majority of the world uses it and can be influenced to either vote for one candidate or not vote at all.
Explaining why the younger generation rarely votes is not easy. There’s various complex factors that play a role. There’s the issues of habit formation, where voting is a habit that is formed with time and young voters having had fewer opportunities to form and reinforce the habit, there’s the issue of a disconnect between campaigns and the youth because political campaigns and parties fail to target and connect with young voters properly. Other factors are not even issues as the youth tends to engage in alternative participation such as citizen activism, mass protests, demonstrations, etc. Clearly, there are countless motives, reasons, and explanations to understand why young voters don’t engage. Fortunately though, there are strategies so that young voter turnout can be increased. This can be done by prioritizing social media outreach, new policy implementation to make it easier for the youth to be involved in voting, letting civic education (topics such as elections and civic skills) reach the youth, having political campaigns and candidates abandon old models of mobilization that neglect young voters and having them reach to the youth directly. Young voter turnout is not currently at its highest but having political campaigns, parties, and candidates focus on the issues would increase it.
Well explained! In the end, the best way to increase young voter turnout is to prioritize reaching the youth. Whether through social media, education, or ease of access, a focus on increasing young voter turnout is needed. I also like your point on habit formation. To expand on it, if families ingrained the habit of voting into children before voting age, it would also increase voter turnout. Because voting and politics aren’t talked about enough with young voters, habits are slow to form.
Ages 18-25 rarely vote because they feel like their vote does not really count compared to all of the older people in the U.S. This age group also doesn’t have a strong political understanding yet just because they are new to it especially because they just got out of high school or starting a new job. Some thing that can be done to help this number of ages in voting go up is simplifying registration, having a person come speak to young people about why voting is important, and using social media to spread positivity and information about voting.