Your Vote Matters; Encouraging the youth to vote
January 26, 2018The voting turnout
amongst 18-24 year olds is significantly lower than any other age group. Why? I
wish I knew. In England and Wales, the legal voting age is 18 years, whereas in
Scotland, it’s 16 years. This drop in age allows for a large proportion of more
young people to vote, shaping their country and participating in the democratic
process. However, thousands of youths do not exercise this right. I feel it is
crucial that we provide teenagers with political knowledge whilst at school,
and try to encourage as many people to vote as possible.
If you were to ask a
young person why they don’t vote, you would be inundated with the same,
stereotypical responses, including that they couldn’t be bothered, are disillusioned
or don’t know enough about it. I wasn’t ever interested in politics until I
started studying it at school, and I am at an advantage too because I have a
lot of background knowledge now. I have the right to vote, and I am going to
exercise this vote as much as I would exercise the right to freedom of speech
etc. The topic of “politics” has a slight stigma surrounding it. Due to the
media, politics have been painted in a bad way, and as a result, it has driven
people in the opposite direction therefore their political engagement is very
poor.
I'll admit it - I wasn't overly impressed nor interested in politics when I was younger. In fact, if I hadn't studied it, I probably still wouldn't be. My teacher encouraged us to watch the news to find out the latest political story, and this is something that I've continued to do ever since. I like to be updated and know what is happening within the Government. I like to be informed, and politically engaged. This isn't necessarily the case with every young person unfortunately; their interest lacks.
I'll admit it - I wasn't overly impressed nor interested in politics when I was younger. In fact, if I hadn't studied it, I probably still wouldn't be. My teacher encouraged us to watch the news to find out the latest political story, and this is something that I've continued to do ever since. I like to be updated and know what is happening within the Government. I like to be informed, and politically engaged. This isn't necessarily the case with every young person unfortunately; their interest lacks.
The age group which
tends to, on average, have the highest turnout is the 65+ years. As their
turnout is the highest, chances are their voices are more likely to be heard
and counted, meaning they will impact upon the decision making progress. With
that being said, younger people, not necessarily the 18-24 year old group, then
complain about the result. I cannot stress enough how we cannot complain about
the result if we do not vote and voice our opinions. Your vote matters, no
matter your age, race or gender. If you believe in something, then action it.
Say what you think. Don’t be afraid.
When it comes to voting, some people are afraid. They are afraid incase they make the wrong decision, which I completely understand, but if that's what you wish to see happen, then go ahead. The youth are easily influenced by their friends, and family, so sometimes they vote based on who or what their family or friends support. If you wish to see a different candidate become your elected MP to who your mum or best friend want, then what harm is that?
When it comes to voting, some people are afraid. They are afraid incase they make the wrong decision, which I completely understand, but if that's what you wish to see happen, then go ahead. The youth are easily influenced by their friends, and family, so sometimes they vote based on who or what their family or friends support. If you wish to see a different candidate become your elected MP to who your mum or best friend want, then what harm is that?
What exactly am I
getting at here? I believe that we should encourage the younger generation to
become politically active. Perhaps that in order to increase the youngest age
group turnout, the government must act. As many young people do not understand
the voting process, and politics as a whole, political education should be
taught throughout secondary school. Even if it was just teaching the basics in
order to provide underlying knowledge. Different elections have different
voting systems, meaning the ballot paper can vary, and even explaining the
difference between each and how they work would clear up a lot of confusion amongst
young people.
To conclude, we
should try and inspire the youth to vote. We need to reiterate to them how
important and significant their vote really is. Especially when it came to
Brexit, the younger generations were highly engaged and raised their opinions
via social media regarding the election, even if they couldn’t vote. Why?
Because they knew the importance of the election on their lives, and seeing
this gave me hope for future elections, and our country.
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