Youth Voting Statistics You Should Know

by Apathy is Boring — March 2, 2007

  A study commissioned by Elections Canada on the rate of participation at the 2000 general election showed that younger Canadians were voting at significantly lower rates than older electors. For the 2004 general election, Elections Canada conducted a study that cross-referenced actual votes with data from the National Register of Electors to find out how many people were voting in each age group. The results showed that approximately 37% of electors aged 18–24 voted. For the 2006 general election, a similar study showed that approximately 44% of electors in the 18–24 age group voted.

•    Turnout is low in Canada not because experienced voters are dropping out of the system, but because potential new voters are not opting into it.

•    Youth apathy in regard to voting is a problem not only in Canada, but also in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.  We are not alone in this battle!

•    Many studies suggest that the current generation which is choosing to opt out of the vote will continue to do so in the future – and that this behavior may not reverse itself when people get older.

•    While it may be true that we youth are less cynical about politics than older citizens, research shows that we feel a profound sense of disconnect from political institutions. They cannot connect with politics, so they choose to ignore it instead.

•    Despite these numbers, a large number of youth are engaged in civil society in a variety of ways, including volunteering in community organizations or non-governmental organizations.
 
•    Elections Canada’s research shows that young people who are active in volunteering in community organizations are, to a considerable degree, the same ones who turn out to vote.  In other words, civic engagement and voting tend to go hand in hand.

•    According to D-Code’s youth voter DNA report: youth believe that politics are important to their lives, but do not feel they have enough say in where the country is going.

•    The Democracy Project, a large study prepared by the Innovative Research Group produced some interesting results:

    86 % of youth surveyed are concerned with the current low voter turnout.
    73 % cite that they have not been asked to participate in politics directly by a politician or party.
    89 % felt it was the duty of every citizen to vote
    35 % felt that their vote will not make a difference
    68 % disagreed that that they do not have time to think about politics right now
    82 % felt that youth would be more likely to vote if schools taught more about the government.
The study found a general, direct correlation between expressing a desire to vote and being politically knowledgeable.


Sources:      
Elections Canada www.elections.ca
D-Code www.d-code.com.  
The Democracy Project :  www.thedemocracyproject.ca/ (site no longer active)