Data

Youth Turnout Hit a Record. Here’s What Changed.

Youth Turnout Hit a Record. Here’s What Changed.

Youth Turnout Hit a Record. Here’s What Changed.

First-time voters turned out in historic numbers. Campaigners, researchers and the voters themselves explain the shift.

Portrait of Theo Lindqvist

Theo Lindqvist

Politics Editor

6 min read

A pole with a sign that says polling station

In this story

Portrait of Theo Lindqvist

Theo Lindqvist

Theo covers parliaments, campaigns and the backrooms in between. Former data reporter, permanent skeptic.

For years, the story was the same: young people care about politics but rarely vote. This election, that story broke.

Turnout among voters under 25 rose by fourteen points, the largest jump recorded since reliable data began.

Registration made simple

Researchers point to automatic registration at age eighteen and polling stations on university campuses as major factors.

“It stopped feeling like an exam you could fail.”

Issues, not parties

Young voters cited housing, climate and mental health as their top concerns, and many split their votes across parties.

End of story — thanks for reading NEWSROOM 27.

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