Why Youth Don T Vote

Young Canadians are increasingly seen as “political dropouts,” with participation rates in federal elections well below the 50% mark. What or who is most importantly to blame? Youth themselves? Political culture? Globalization and neoliberalism? Something else?

The general public has a tendency to see youth voters as “political dropouts” and many people have ideas as to why youth don’t vote. This paper seeks to straighten out some of that information and provide the facts. It will explore 5 common reasons that youth don’t vote.

Generally, youth today are growing up in a world where they are marginalized by the rest of the public. They feel like their values and views are invalid, and that they have no influence over the government. This

Through experiences of their parents, many youth see the futility of government involvement before they are even of the age to vote. This intensifies a feeling of inconsequentiality. Youth are discouraged by the idea that if they become engaged with the government, either through elections or the public sector, the outcome won’t be what they want. This will only encourage the idea that the government isn’t there to serve them; instead, it will enforce a feeling that the government is separate from them. This divide, between youth and the government, enforces a political class. The language in which politicians speak is not easily understood by youth and the rest of the population. Politicians use words that effectively distance them from the potential young voters. Another way that youth are marginalized is through the lack of accessible information. While there is information available, youth have to go out of their way to find it, and often it is written in terms that they

Many people in the public, youth included, see the members of this so called “political class” as completely separate. This divide is furthered by the lack of trust that people of the general public have in the government and in politicians. This divide has caused many to become disenchanted with the idea of political involvement, and this has affected youth. Youth grow up being told that politicians are seen by youth as “greedy” and “untrustworthy”, yet are expected to trust in them and participate actively in an organization which they have become disenchanted with and no longer believe in. While there is evidence that there is still trust in the idea of democracy, it is clear that youth no longer trust in government. Another reason for the criticism towards politicians is because they screw up and don’t keep promises, yet at the end of the day, they still have jobs. Youth today have grown up in a world where this is at the core of political culture. It has an effect on