The aim of the Education, Youth Citizenship and Democratic Participation survey was to explore the different aspects of youth participation in EU politics in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The target group was 14-25 year old EU- citizens (first time/new voters for the 2024 EP elections) and the questions where available in all languages of the European Union.
The general decline of voter turnout in recent decades worries policy-makers and intrigues researchers. Some speak of it as a ‘crisis of democracy’, others of a ‘democratic deficit’. The decline is sharper amongst young people. The EU is not immune to this trend – in 2019, for the first time since 1994, voter turnout for European Parliament (EP) elections climbed back up reaching 50% of the total eligible voters in the EU (European Parliament, 2022). Hailed as a success, a small majority of eligible citizens voting poses a problem of legitimacy of both national and supranational political systems. But why is it that young people vote, on average, less than other cohorts?
This report aims to shed light on the challenges and motivations behind the choice to vote or abstain from voting in the next EP elections 2024. It focuses on influences and factors of turnout as exemplified in a literature review synthetising the findings of over 40 academic papers on the subject. Data informing analysis were collected through a quantitative survey involving over 2000 young Europeans aged 14 to 25 years old. Most of the data gathering was conducted a year ahead of the start of the election campaigns, in summer 2022.
The study finds the young people taking part in the survey to be interested in politics and active supporters of democratic life, disproving academic and media narratives portraying young people as disinterested in political and civic matters. Such interest, however, does not necessarily lead to the vote. Top reasons for abstention and/or uncertainty around the vote pertain to a lack of representation, as well as a lack of trust in political systems, and/or information environments. Indeed, many young voters do not feel equipped to make an informed choice – a role, we argue, that will need to be filled by collective structures such as youth organisations, students’ unions and other forms of associationism. Top reasons for showing up to the polls remain strongly connected to moral considerations around citizen participation in democratic life. Casting an ‘opposition vote’ – meaning a vote taken against and not for a political force – remains more common than the vote for a specific political force. National-level political and information environments as well as variations in age are found to affect attitudes towards voting as well as the resources needed to engage potential voters.
To support young people in casting their vote, this report calls for a needs based approach to campaigning for the EP elections of 2024 – to account for the specific needs of different types of potential voters. Amongst the most fundamental challenges to keep in mind is the knowledge gap on the EU and its functioning; the lack of confidence, or trust, in political institutions, as well as the lack of representation; and potential voters’ low levels of political literacy.
Do you want to read the survey! Download it here!