Youth Voter Apathy and What You Can Do About It

by Apathy is Boring Intern Patrick Burkhard — July 17, 2007

Youth Voter Apathy and What You Can Do About It

The first thing to ask yourself when looking at the youth issue is why are you trying to attract youth? Chances are the answer to this question is because youth are not involved in your political campaign and in traditional politics at all.  The good news is that is you are at the point when you are attempting to include and attract youth; you have stopped being part of the problem and have started to become part of the solution.  The numbers do not lie: youth are not coming out to vote and this trend is not being reversed.  At the same time, the membership of political parties is looking older and older these days.  What then is left for the future of the party system and more specifically your political party if it does not recruit youth?

By now, you can hopefully get a sense of what youth are feeling, why youth are not engaged in party politics and general political life.  If you have not read the “Top Reasons 18-34 Year Olds Don’t Vote” as well as the “Who Made This Mess We’re In” documents, please do so now to get a sense of the current relationship between politics and youth.  The document is also reflective of what is also generally found in other accounts and students of voter apathy.  It is not always a question of not wanting to be involved, of being apathetic, because some young people are generally not interested, but there are also huge amounts of young people who would like to get involved in politics, and either do not know how or where to begin or have simply been turned off by conventional politics.  This section will address the youth you will face and what can be done to draw them back into the political sphere.  We also recommend you read our Youth Friendly Guide, which is a more comprehensive account on how to approach and reach youth. 

Things You Can Do Today To Encourage The Youth Vote

1.    Make Youth Issues Your Issues:  Even though your riding may be dominated by aging baby boomers, a party who makes its base an aging population is writing its own ending.  Stop playing for votes and look at what issues youth are concerned with.  During the 1970s, Pierre Elliot Trudeau listened to youth (when the boomers were young).  They held the demographic weight and statistics show youth voting was over 70 %.  Our leaders need to reignite a bit of the ‘youth are the future’ mentality.

2.    Be Prepared to do some Civic Education:  Youth need to understand why their voice is important in the political system.  Studies point to the fact that if youth does not get involved now and vote, this habit will not be developed later on in life.  This also means voicing within government a need for greater civic education in elementary and high schools.

3.    Respect Youth:  In order for the tide to be turned, youth need to see that they are not being patronized, and are rather having their voices respected in politics.  Nothing is more grating then a “you’ll see when you are older” attitude.  This respect needs to be clearly demonstrated through giving youth responsibility and treating youth as equals.  Give them roles in your campaign work, and major ones. 

4.    Behave yourselves:  Nothing is more embarrassing and a bigger turnoff (politically) then seeing a bunch of grown-ups arguing like little kids in the House of Commons.  How is youth ever going to feel respected if today’s politicians do not respect each other?  Youth value honest and direct speech, not coercion and name calling.  

5.    No Tokenism:  Are you trying to include youth so they will vote for you or do you actually want youth to be working side by side with you?  If the answer is the former, please re-evaluate your position vis a vis youth.  Placing a youth within your organization or as part of your campaign will only further the dislocation between the generations in our society.  We need real partnerships and equality, not tokenism. 

6.    Play to Youth’s Strengths:  Of course a fresh faced 20 year old may not be the best person to task with overseeing a large budget or being an office manager.  But a youth may be a great person to head your campaign recruitment strategy.  Give youth some responsibility where you know they are capable and you will be surprised what a youth is capable of.  Just because youth do not do everything the same way or even follow the same established norms does not make them wrong.  Young people are creative, energetic and motivated.  Use (but not abuse) these qualities.

7.    Aim Part of Your Strategy at Youth:  Strategize for different audiences; this may include targeted ads as well as different ads for different people.  There are many different ways of looking at the same painting – so be a Picasso!  Show youth you do listen and can know them.

8.    Lead, don’t follow:  It is a sad truth that Canada has been in a leadership deficit for a number of years.  Modern leaders are not connecting with youth for the simple reason that few leaders in past decades have operated with any degree of bravado, guile or even courage.  Politics these days seems so scripted to youth that the differences between leaders and parties are often blurred.  Make some changes and try something new.  Don’t pander to opinion polls and undertake some brilliant and new ideas and projects. 

9.    Don’t Guilt Trip:  Youth have already been told voting is a “privilege, not a right” – they got the message and they still don’t vote.  Explain why voting is important but reinforce that the choice is theirs and theirs alone.  Guilt tripping or forced voting incentives will not allow political consciousness to grow and develop. 

10.    Give Youth a Voice:  If one sole point can stand out from this list, it is the need to draw youth into an intergenerational partnership and recognize youth as equal partners in this country's direction.  This entails giving youth its voice, and showing a generation that this voice is what is missing from our country. Principles of tolerance, understanding and equality empower youth to claim this role.  You, however, must encourage and give youth the space to do so.