Many 18-year-olds were able to vote for the first time in last week’s general election. But fewer than 40% of young voters said they were “likely” to visit their polling station on 4 July. Could a town hall ceremony and better political education in schools address the ongoing problem of young voters’ apathy?
Over the years, various ideas have been put forward to tackle young voters’ disengagement in politics. The new government’s manifesto has even committed to lowering the voting age to 16; as it is in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Malta.
But I suggest that many young people will only vote if they really understand the importance of elections. This could be achieved in two ways: firstly, better political education in schools and secondly, an event to highlight the importance of voting, such as a town hall ceremony for new voters.
The importance of voting and turnout over the years
As many of us know, voting is a key part in how we as citizens have a say in the way the country is run. But voter apathy (which has led to fewer than 30% of people voting in some parts of the UK, including Kent) threatens the representativeness of our democratic system. When people are not voting, their voices are not getting heard and their political priorities are easily ignored.
The British Election Study and Ipsos Mori data shows how in the 2019 general election, people aged 18 to 24 were the age group least likely to vote. This indicates that young people suffer from the most voter apathy.
Why don’t more young people vote?
Young people have been reported to be the most dissatisfied with the democratic system in the UK. And a recent study by UK Youth found that only one in ten young people believe that politicians prioritise their needs. Yet they are also the least likely to state that it is difficult for them to understand what’s going on in parliament and politics.
Young people are more likely to agree with the statement that “politics is a waste of time” than older people. But young people with higher levels of formal education are more likely to hold more positive political attitudes than young people with lower levels of education.
This makes a strong case for the importance of better political education for young people.
Young voters in the EU
In the EU, young peoples’ engagement with politics is a problem too, although turnout is higher than in the UK in 12 member states.
One reason for this is the fact that in some EU countries, like Belgium and Luxembourg, voting is compulsory. Turnout in these countries is normally around 90%.
Kent and Surrey Bylines spoke to a young man living in Belgium, who recently voted in the EU elections.
He said:
“My first time voting was quite interesting. It made me realise how important it is to follow politics or follow the news. Even if it’s just a few minutes a day of watching a news channel. It helps you understand what the needs of the city or country are that you live in. It also helps you make a decision on who you are voting for.
“To help me make a decision on who to vote for, I had a walk around the city I live in. I tried to remember what the city was like a few years ago compared to now. That is what helped me make a final decision. During my walk, I realised that Brussels was looking much greener and the pedestrian zones had significantly multiplied. There have been sizeable efforts from the Green Party to make the city greener and more pleasant for pedestrians. They got my vote.
“When I went to vote, there were quite a few people who were in their late teens and early twenties who also came to vote. The voting part was easy because it was all done electronically on a large screen. I voted in less than twenty seconds.
“Voting for the first time was an eye-opening experience and it helped me understand the importance of voting.”
The importance of political education for young voters
At the heart of voting lies the idea of civic and citizen responsibility. We as citizens have a responsibility to make our voices heard through voting. Doing so will promote quality of life for all.
Our first-time voter in Belgium clearly understood the importance of voting and took his civic duty seriously. Could this be, in part, because Belgium has country-wide civic education?
The key issue with upholding these responsibilities in this country is that in many UK schools, little to no education on citizen responsibility, civics or even human rights is given.
This presents a fundamental problem when it comes to tackling voter apathy. We simply cannot expect young people to understand the significance of voting when they are not taught what they are voting for.
The UK’s national curriculum
The UK’s national curriculum mandates citizenship education at Key Stages 3 and 4. However, only local authority-maintained schools are required by law to follow it.
In Kent, 83 secondary schools out of 101 are academies. Therefore only 18 have a legal duty to provide this important training.
By implementing better civic education in all UK schools, we as a society can ensure that the young generation are armed with the knowledge they need in order to vote.
This education would also help to uphold and communicate important standards such as universal human rights. In other countries, these rights are violated by those in power who have repressed or taken away the right to vote. This is something we often take for granted in the UK.
A town hall ceremony for young voters
Many factors can impact whether young people decide to use their new eligibility to vote. But an incentive could entice them to vote and emphasise the significance of the act of voting.
A great incentive could be a ceremony at their local town hall, where the young person receives their first ever vote card. In Kent, this could be presented by the local mayor.
This brings to mind other ceremonies that signify the acceptance of adult responsibility such as the Jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvah. In these ceremonies, a young person is accepted by their faith as an adult. Could a town hall ceremony also help to emphasise young people being seen by society as adults?
What do young voters think of a town hall ceremony?
Some 18-year-olds who voted for the first time in the May local elections have given mixed opinions on the idea, with one stating:
“The idea of a ceremony is nice, but at the end of the day I care more about actually voting than the whole idea of making it a big deal that it’s my first time. It wouldn’t change whether I voted or not,really.”
On the other hand, another young voter felt that:
“I think more of my friends would’ve voted if there was this town hall thing, it just reminds us that it’s important.”
Kent and Surrey Bylines asked for the thoughts of our first-time voter in Brussels. He said:
“I think the idea of a mayor’s reception to welcome first time voters is great. It would be a good opportunity for the mayor to receive feedback from first time voters. It would also help to exchange on what the town or city needs according to teenagers and young adults. The mayor can then explain the importance of voting and how the voting system works.”
An exemplar for the EU?
90% of young people believe it is “important to have a say in the decisions politicians make”. Yet as this article has discussed, many of them are not voting. In the UK, the root causes of the issues around voting appear to be a lack of related education and not enough emphasis on how important voting is.
Schools could address this by adopting the National Curriculum on citizenship education. And Kent could set a great example to the rest of the country by being the first county to trial a town hall ceremony for new young voters. Maybe this is an idea we could even export to the EU!
The author of this article is a sixth-form student from Kent.
