Extracted from Youth Voter Participation: Involving Today's Young in
Tomorrow's Democracy
© International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 1999.
International IDEA, Strömsborg, 103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone +46-8-698 37 00, Fax: +46-8-20 24 22
E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.idea.int
Part I
WHY YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD VOTE
(
“Just too many candidates, just too little political
substance. Maybe tomorrow will give us another choice of
possibilities.”
Anton Artemiev, 20
student at the University of Moscow, Russia
This was the view shared by many Russian youngsters during the 1996
presidential election. Anton Artemiev was eligible to vote for the first time that
year, but perplexed by the political situation, he decided to abstain. Is this
experience shared by youth in other parts of the world? What are the
implications of low youth turnout for democracy and for young people
themselves? Part I outlines the dangers for democracy of abstention, and
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stresses the particular importance of the youth vote.
PART I: WHY YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD VOTE
Daniela Capaccio and Wolfgang Hirczy de Mino
A.
Electoral Abstention as a Problem of Democracy
Elections play a vital role in a system of representative democracy. They are the primary
mechanism with which to implement the principle of popular sovereignty. Ultimate authority
rests with the people, and the people delegate this authority to government representatives
through the electoral process. Periodic elections provide citizens a means to replace incumbents and change the government. Thus, they help the public to keep office-holders and
political parties accountable.
Because of the unique role of elections in a democratic system, voting also has a special place
among the many different forms of political participation that citizens can engage in to influence government. Furthermore, voting is the only form of participation in which each Unique role of
citizen has an equal say (one person, one vote). The right to vote is a great equalizer in elections
political influence; in practice, however, this is only true for those who exercise it.
If those who vote differ significantly in key political attributes from those who do not vote, a
distortion in representation is likely to ensue. After all, the outcome of an election only
reflects the judgement of the voting public. Groups known to have a lower turnout rate may
be neglected in policy-making and thus in policy outcomes.
Universal participation in elections ensures the faithful representation of the popular will and
thus prevents such distortions. It also enhances the legitimacy of the system. By performing
their role as voters, citizens affirm their support for the political order. This promotes political
stability, but it is also inherently desirable on normative grounds. According to democratic
theory, the right to vote in elections should not only be universally guaranteed, it
Enhancing
should also be exercised. The reality of contemporary elections, however, reveals legitimacy
that there has been a decline in voter turnout throughout the world.
B.
Why Participation of Young People is Important
Young people’s involvement in politics can take a variety of forms, just like that of any other
age group. Voting constitutes only one element of a much more extensive repertoire of political participation, but it is the most basic democratic act that all citizens should perform on a
regular basis.
∑
Why should we be concerned with youth turnout? A number of reasons can be offered. Some
apply equally to all groups of voters, others are unique to young people.
Effect on turnout: Young people should vote to sure high overall turnout. The
larger the group (as a percentage of all eligible voters) and the lower its groupspecific turnout, the more it will depress the aggregate turnout rate.
Ensuring high
overall turnout
Substantive representation of youth: Young people may have political interests that
differ from those of older voters and which should be represented. The assumption is that
voting will affect the nature of representation and ultimately the content of
Making your
public policy. If young people don’t vote, they and their distinct interests are voice heard
more likely to be ignored or neglected by policy-makers.
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Youth Voter Participation
Political socialization of the next generation: Young people should vote to develop a
habit of voting from the start, and thus ensure high turnout in the future. Getting them to
vote is part of their political socialization. It encompasses two aspects: behavioural and
attitudinal. Behavioural means acting politically on the basis of attitudes, preferences and
opinions, such as by discussing politics with others, participating in political events, and
through voting. Attitudinal involvement means acquiring knowledge about how government works and of public affairs, as well as developing an interest in and opinions on
political issues of the day. The socialization argument is specific to young people. It considers the future adverse effects of inadequate political education. If young people
Early political
socialization fail to acquire habits of good citizenship and democratic responsibility in their formative years, the future of democracy may be in question.
Ability to exercise political influence: Like economically underprivileged segments of
a society, young people may be assumed to have few resources to influence policymaking and may further be handicapped by a perception that they are not mature enough
to speak for themselves, or even to know what is good for them. However, the ballot is a
great equalizer. Everyone’s vote counts equally, even if there are vast disparities of
Exercising
resources. By voting, young people have the same ability as others to exercise political
political influence
influence or pressure.
Political integration strengthens democracy: Young people who are involved in the
electoral process affirm their support for democracy as well as acquire a stake in the system and an appreciation that they, too, can affect politics and policy. Indeed, political
integration of youth may promote public order and democratic stability as long as
Strengthening
young people are given a real voice, their vote is seen as meaningful and influential,
democracy
and the system is responsive to their input.
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