Young voters in Pennsylvania show surprising behavior in latest election

Bronwen Everill‚ a Princeton-based historian and Philadelphia voter shares her first-hand observations about youth voting patterns in the swing-state

The latest voting data paints an eye-opening picture: Pennsylvania saw a six-percent drop in young voter sign-ups since about 4 years ago‚ while nation-wide stats from Tufts University show that only forty-two percent of college-age citizens showed up at the polls (making it the lowest turn-out in over two decades)

Local uni students shared mixed feelings about the election process; some felt its their duty to participate while others chose to stay away from the whole thing — mainly due to high-strung political arguments with friends and family members. “The waiting lines were super-long at some places but the energy was there for those who came to vote“‚ says a first-time mail-in voter

Looking back at voting history since the early 70s when eighteen became the legal age to vote; youth turn-out went above fifty percent only three times:

• During Clintonʼs first run
• When Obama got elected
• In the covid-era election

The trend matches what happened in other places: Nigeria saw lots of young people register after the EndSARS movement but then had low numbers show up to actually vote

Research shows that young voters often step back when they dont trust the system to keep its promises. However its worth noting that worries about youth voting habits arent new - a PA newspaper from 32 years ago wrote about similar fears right before one of the biggest youth turn-outs ever

The democratic future of the nation is being eroded among the young