Bronwen Everill‚ a Princeton-based historian and Philadelphia voter studies youth voting trends in swing-state Pennsylvania where recent data points to some eye-catching developments
The numbers tell an interesting story: young-voter registration in Pennsylvania dropped by 6% since last election‚ while nation-wide only 42% of college-age citizens showed up at polling stations (which marks the lowest turn-out since Y2K)
Students attitudes towards voting show a mixed bag of responses: some first-time voters felt duty-bound to participate; others stayed away due to heated political discussions. A tech-savvy student from Penn State (who preferred to stay un-named) explained his mail-in ballot experience: “It felt like the right thing to do“
Looking back at voting history shows some note-worthy patterns — since the early 70s when eighteen-year-olds got voting rights only three elections saw more than half of young people turn up:
- Clintonʼs win in 92
- Obamaʼs first victory
- The covid-era election
Global trends paint a similar picture: Nigeriaʼs post-protest registration surge in 2020 didnt translate into actual votes during their next election. Young peoples trust in political systems seems to affect turn-out world-wide
The democratic future of the nation is being eroded among the young — but such worries about youth participation have been around for ages; ironically this statement came right before one of the highest youth turn-outs ever recorded