While young people have risen to the forefront of social movements and civic engagement, translating that enthusiasm into electoral participation is a different story.
A recent study by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) indicated that nearly one-third of young people ages 18-29 who did not vote in the 2022 midterms cited a lack of information about candidates as a key reason. Specifically, 21% felt they didn’t have enough information to make educated decisions.
Political participation among young adults, particularly college students, continues to be an area of concern. Experts and FAU students point to several underlying factors, including a lack of targeted political outreach from candidates and campaigns, complicated voting policies, family influences and the absence of voter education in schools.
The disconnect between campaigns and youth voters
Saundra Ardrey, a political scientist at Western Kentucky University with expertise in electoral politics and campaign management, particularly among African Americans and women, highlighted the untapped potential of Generation Z voters.
“Young people really have risen to the forefront of civic and political life,” Ardrey said. “But even though the numbers have increased over the last decade or so, they still are not at the level that we want them to be.”
A 2023 study by CIRCLE indicates that 41 million members of Gen Z will be eligible to vote in the 2024 election.
Despite this growing voter base, Ardrey claims that political campaigns and parties are failing to target young voters adequately.
“A lot of those young people claim that they have not been introduced to any political campaigns or information on social media,” Ardrey said. “The political parties are just not reaching out to these folks, and so that may be one of the reasons that we find that their participation isn’t at the level that we want it to be.”
Ardrey finds it surprising that despite the presence of social media, there is still a lack of targeted campaigns tailored to young voters.
“There are millions of potential voters out there that are not being targeted,” Ardrey said. “So why [isn’t there] a more concentrated effort to get these young people?”
Raymond Adderly, FAU’s Boca Raton campus governor, echoed this sentiment, noting that while students often resonate with issues like college loan forgiveness and marijuana legalization, broader economic policies such as tax cuts or social security may feel less relevant.
“Yeah, I see that you’re talking about wanting to save Social Security and Medicare. Great, good for my grandma, but what about me?” he said.
Even on FAU’s campus, where policies directly impacting student life are on the ballot, participation is shockingly low. FAU’s Student Government elections recently saw only a 0.66% turnout on the Boca Raton campus – a 60% drop from fall 2020.
“If students aren’t voting on campus for the things that can make their campus life better, what makes us expect them to vote in actual elections?” Adderly said.
The disconnect between young voters and political messaging stems from what Ardrey described as the “enthusiasm gap.” Many students, she noted, feel their vote doesn’t matter or that no candidates are addressing issues they care about.
“Political efficacy is often lacking among young people…” Ardrey said. “A lot of students will say, ‘Well, my vote is not going to make a difference,’ or, ‘they’re not talking about anything I’m concerned about.’”
Aaron Veenstra, a public opinion professor at FAU with expertise in political science, pointed out a paradox: younger voters are often ignored by political parties because they historically don’t turn out in high numbers.
“The oldest age group has the highest turnout every single election, and what that tells parties is that these are votes they have to use fewer resources to secure,” he said. As a result, campaigns tend to focus on issues like Social Security, which resonate more with older voters, while concerns like student debt relief and affordable education, which are critical to younger voters, are often sidelined.
“It’s really hard to tell people as a group, ‘You need to participate in the system in order for the system to want to be responsive to you,’” Veenstra said.
Discouragement and complex voting rules
Veenstra said many young voters find themselves at a loss trying to find relevant information as they head to the polls. He said younger voters often feel overwhelmed by the expectation to “do their research” before voting.
“We have this norm within American politics about doing research and finding out about the candidates and all that kind of stuff. And when you think about it, it’s oftentimes presented as a lot,” Veenstra said. “It’s very onerous; like this is a big, important decision that you’ve got to put a lot of thought into… If I’m 20, I don’t want to hear, ‘Go out and do your research.’ You’re telling me to go do homework on things that I have no foundation for, no understanding of.”
Many young people are not yet socialized into politics, Veenstra noted.
“For the typical person who needs an external thing to spark that [interest], it tends to be having kids,” Veenstra said. “When people have kids, there’s all kinds of public policy issues that become of concern to you that really you probably weren’t thinking about before. Public schools is kind of the biggest one, but you have kids, and maybe that’s the first major engagement with the healthcare system that you’ve had. So that tends to be a big entry point.”
Stephanie Puello, a political scientist at the University of Miami, pointed out that the voting process can be especially burdensome for college students, particularly those studying out of state.
“Other policies such as voter ID certainly can be a barrier, particularly because students might have not changed their ID yet from the state that they might be from, but they might be interested in voting in the state that they’re students in or currently living in,” Puello said.
She also criticized Florida’s lack of same-day registration and the additional hurdles for absentee voting.
“In Florida, if you’re trying to register to vote and you don’t have a Florida license, you can still register online, but you then have to print, and either mail or take your application in person, and a lot of students are just not going to do all of that,” she said.
Puello, who recently moved from Colorado to Florida, also emphasized the difference in voter accessibility between the two states. In Colorado, for instance, everyone receives a ballot by default, allowing voters to review propositions and measures in advance. This, she argued, not only makes voting easier but also promotes more informed decisions.
Family influence
Another key factor influencing political disengagement among young people may be their families, according to Brett Laursen, a psychology professor at FAU. Laursen, who specializes in peer and child relationships, conducted a 2023 study in Germany that explored how a disregard for politics spreads from parents to children worldwide.
The study involved 571 German teens and their parents, who completed surveys about feeling disconnected from politics over a year. The teens also shared how close they felt to their parents. Laursen’s findings showed that children who have close relationships with their parents are more likely to adopt their parents’ attitudes toward politics — positive or negative.
When asked what other factors might contribute to young people not voting, Laursen pointed to a general sense that voting does not lead to direct change.
“It stems largely from the fact that they don’t see that it has a lot of direct impact on change. So there’s a view that’s ‘why bother to vote?’” he said.
Laursen said that changing the political views of teenagers’ close contacts, especially their parents, could help get more young voters involved.
Gaps in civic education
Nick Coyte, president of Turning Point USA at FAU, a political activist group, believes that the key to improving voter engagement lies in better education.
“Everybody that’s in an institution of higher education should already have a fairly healthy understanding of politics, and I think there’s a lack of that in our curriculum,” he said. Coyte added that he believes that a poor understanding of politics — stemming from lack of education at both the high school and college levels — is one of the biggest obstacles to voting.
The Florida Department of Education requires students in public high schools to take the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE). This computer-based test evaluates their understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the principles of American democracy.
Ardrey also raised concerns about the role universities play in promoting political engagement.
“I’m not sure that universities are doing what they need to safeguard our democracy,” Ardrey said. Ardrey, along with Puello, advocated for more on-campus resources, including polling sites, to make voting more accessible for students.
On election day, a voting poll will be located in the Arena Lobby on FAU’s Boca Raton Campus, the UP reported in September.
Lack of engagement
Michael Adams, a political science expert at Texas Southern University, has studied African American electoral participation for over 40 years. He explained that the midterm elections of 2022 saw a notable drop in turnout, with younger voters remaining largely disengaged.
“We have a lot of work to do in terms of mobilizing the young vote,” he said.
Adams recalled the excitement of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign, especially when he came to the University of Houston to gather support for the primary election.
“There was a lot of young students ‘feeling the Bern’… It was a sold-out arena; I’m talking more than 20,000 [young] people and they were very enthusiastic. But we haven’t seen that since then,” he said.
He also noted how younger voters often lack the personal connection to the Civil Rights Movement that older generations experienced. He shared his own memories of growing up during that era.
“I remember… driving around my family where homes had been firebombed… So there’s a big difference if you see that struggle – if you compare it with young people today,” Adams said. “When I teach American government, [students] don’t have recollections of a Civil Rights Movement or the struggle to vote.”
The experts all have at least one thing in common: concern for declining youth participation in elections.
“I’m afraid now. If there’s nothing moving the needle or exciting young college students about voting, they’re more likely not to vote, and so that’s going to impact voter turnout,” Adams said.
Laurie Mermet is the Student Life Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or DM laurie.mmt on Instagram.
