Youth Voter Participation: Involving Today's Young in Tomorrow's Democracy

The importance of the youth vote to any democracy is central to this cross-cultural analysis of the unique role of elections—and the dangers of abstention—in a democratic society. Comparative data from the parliamentary elections of 15 European democracies illustrate the scope of the problem of low youth turnout, and analyses of the reasons for such negligible participation are presented. Specially commissioned interviews conducted in several countries worldwide bring the opinions and views of young people themselves into the study. Additionally, descriptions of specific programmes for increasing youth participation enacted in Chile, Russia, South Africa, and the United States and included, as are proposals for a variety of activities that governmental and nongovernmental organizations can use to draw young citizens into the electoral arena.