Young people do vote. Don’t let the title of this blog fool you into thinking that they don’t, or that they’re apathetic or need to be rousted up and shown the way. What we need to think about, though, is that not enough young people vote, so it’s crucial that we engage them and think of ways to help them get to the polls.

Much like using a business SMS would remind someone of an important appointment or to buy something they don’t want to miss out on, there must be ways that the youth can be reminded about their responsibility to vote.

Read on for some ideas.


Better Political Education In Schools

One of the biggest issues with voting for the younger generation is that they are not taught enough about it in school. They leave education without much of an idea about how government works, what the structure is, or why voting is going to help them. It takes many years to find and gain this understanding, which is most likely why older generations outnumber younger ones at the polling stations.

If this part of their education was better, and the curriculum included from a very young age — primary school, potentially — exactly what the process of voting was, what it meant, how to research political parties and agenda etc., then those between the ages of 18 and 25 would be much more confident in casting their vote and would do so their entire lives.

Simplify Voter Registration

The new system of voter registration hasn’t quite worked in the way it was meant to. Rather than empowering more people to vote, it can often mean that young people, who move around a lot more than older, more stable people, can fall off the register and only find out that this has happened when it’s too late. The result is that they often cannot vote even if they are ready to and know which party they wish to vote for.

A better solution would be same-day registration so that anyone who wants to vote and who isn’t registered can do so there and then, and then get to voting. Introducing a system of online voting is another options. The youth are so internet-literate that this makes a lot of sense. In fact, this makes a lot of sense for everyone. If you don’t have to leave the house to vote, not even to post a postal vote, then it’s far easier and more likely to be done.

Have More Diverse Politicians

It could make a big difference if young people could see politicians as more like themselves. Instead, a lot of the time they are seen as public-school-educated, elite, male, and not in the least bit up-to-date with the reality of the world. How can this make for an exciting prospect when it comes to voting?

If politicians were more diverse, not only would more issues be tackled successfully, but young people would be much more engaged with politics and be interested in what was happening.