Why are there so few young voters? - and what can be done about it?

Press Release:

Why are there so few young voters?
- and what can be done about it?

15 European countries mapped by International IDEA (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)

After the low voter participation in the European Parliament elections, and some national parliamentary elections, many politicians and political commentators are wondering why people are showing a low interest in voting. This weekend International IDEA presents a report called Youth Voter Participation - Involving Today’s Young in Tomorrow's Democracy.

The report documents the scope of low voter turnout among young people, explores its causes, and suggests innovative ideas and practical programmes to raise young people’s interest and participation in the electoral process. Included in the report is a comparative analysis on the political activity of young people in 15 Western European countries, interviews on why they do not vote and what could encourage them to vote in the future.

Main findings:

• The average turnout rate of all voters in the 15 European countries is 88.6%, while the turnout level for voters between 18 and 29 years old is 80.9%.

• In countries where the overall voter participation is relatively low, the difference between youth turnout and the overall turnout is larger. In Switzerland, the overall turnout level is 63.7%, while voter participation among electors between 18 and 29 years old is 13.5 percentage points lower. In Belgium, which has the highest voter participation rate at 97.1%, the youth turnout rate is only 0.4 percentage points lower. In Sweden young people's voter participation was 4.3 percentage points lower than the overall participation rate.

• In countries where voting is compulsory, the turnout among young people was on average 18 percentage points higher than in countries with voluntary voting.

• Countries where the electoral system facilitates access to representation in parliament for small parties have a youth turnout rate of almost 12 percentage points higher than in countries where access for small parties is not present.

• An active tradition in popular movements increases the voter participation among the young. The average tendency to vote among young people was 91.3% in countries with a high trade union membership and 76.1% in countries with lower membership levels.

• Countries with high political party membership have on average a lower youth voter participation rate of 4.2 percentage points than countries with low levels of party members.

Voices of the Young:

International IDEA asked young people around the world why they don't vote. Listed are some of their responses:

"Just too many candidates, just too little political substance", says Anton Artemiev, 20, student of economics, Moscow, Russia.

"I did not vote because elections bring the same set of rulers every time who had failed to deliver in the past", says Sabeen Hasan, 21, business student, Karachi, Pakistan.

"Politics is a dirty business and politicians roll in the dirt", says Maria Angeles Larcade, 24 architect, Argentina.

"My conscience told me I wasn't well-enough informed to vote for any of the parties", says Jon Möller, 20, unemployed, Sweden.

"My vote wasn't going to make a difference", says José Manuel Gomez, 23, driver in Venezuela.

IDEAs for Action

International IDEA's report lists possible strategies on how to increase the interest of young people in the electoral process:

1. Make it easier to register to vote. The Rock the Vote organization in the United States has registered young people at concerts, on college campuses, via mail and over a toll-free number and on-line through the Internet.

2. Support educational programmes on democracy. In one year, the Australian Electoral Commission school visits programme reached, for example, 116,000 students all over Australia.

3. Encourage preparatory elections such as mock elections. On 6 July 1997, four million children in Mexico voted on which of the children's rights they believe is the most important, at the same time that adults went to the voting stations for the national parliamentary elections.

4. Facilitate voting practically. Before the parliamentary elections in Canada 1997, Elections Canada sent out information to all registered electors informing them on the location of their voting station and the hours of voting.

5. Lower the voting age. Even though the minimum voting age varies - from 15 in Iran and 21 in for example, Lebanon and Malaysia - most countries have a minimum voting age of 18. In Hannover, Germany where 16 and 17 year-old persons had a chance to vote in the local elections, their participation rate was higher than the remainder of the group under 35.

Please receive more information on youth voter participation in different countries by:

• Ordering the report on Youth Voter Participation from International IDEA

• Calling the editor of the report, Daniela Capaccio, 698 37 52, or send an e-mail d.capaccio@idea.int.

Contact Greger Hatt or Monika Ericson at International IDEA,
Strömsborg, S-103 34 Stockholm
Tel: 08-698 37 00/721/744 Fax: 08-20 24 22,
E-mail: info@idea.int,  m.ericson@idea.int

International IDEA (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) was founded in February 1995. The Institute’s overall objective is to promote and advance sustainable democracy world-wide and to improve and consolidate electoral processes. To date, Members are Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, India, Namibia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Press Institute, Parliamentarians for Global Action, and Transparency International. The Institute also has co-operative agreements with the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Commission of Jurists, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the United Nations Development Programme. Switzerland also contributes to the work of the Institute.