Why Young People Don't Vote

Indonesia is heading to the presidential election this April 2019. Half - 187.1 million of Indonesian voters are from the millennial generations, born roughly between 1982-2001 (Titi Anggraeni - Executive Director Perludem). In the 2014 election,  less than 30% of youngsters cast a ballot. The number of youth voters in 2019 is quite big and will contribute significantly to the victory of the Candidates — however, youngsters are not sufficiently engaged in politics. They remained apathy towards the political process because they assume that political dynamics are not attractive and doesn't seem to affect their everyday lives. The decline in the political involvement of younger generations and the decreasing levels of youth participation not only endanger the democratic representativeness of today but also jeopardize the democracy of tomorrow. In 2014's youth participation, there are several reasons why young people don't vote.

First, registration was a hurdle. In 2014, many youngsters still hadn't gotten E-KTP which was needed to vote. Voter-eligibility regulations were confusing, too. As an instance, even as the minimum vote casting age was 17, all and sundry who was married and had an identification card could vote. Ladies as younger as 16 could marry legally. With those confusing rules, the young voters didn't want to put in the effort to get them registered or get themselves the voter ID cards. Also, some made it precise that the electorate must be from the addresses they paid taxes from or where their vehicle was registered. This indicated college goers would need to journey back domestic or request an absentee ballot week in advance. This problem still exists until now. If the KPU take action, make the registration easier, the youth participation projected will increase in 2019.

Second, scandals involving numerous political parties. The number of corruption has been spiked over the years also caused apathy of young voters. Young people didn't have very high belief and faith in the legislative branch, especially when they see the leaders abusing powers and not doing their work correctly. 

Third, unaffected by changes. Most policies and issues that candidates had to offer didn't affect people much until later in life. Which potential turnout for older people expected to be high in most elections. However, due to the fact of this, candidates tackled worries of the older generations and positioning themselves as beneficial to older folks. This made the issues that have long-term consequences out of the picture. So, young voters didn't see their concerns being addressed and determined not to support either candidate. This reason kept younger voter turnout low in the elections. Parties saw youth issues like a low return on investment.

Take an example of the United States, a large chunk of the youth population was reluctant to use their power. That was one of many reasons why Donald Trump was elected as the 44th POTUS. It's clear that the youth regretted their past action. Youth voter turnout spiked during midterm elections, a significant increase from 21 % to 31 %. The Youth may feel that electing a president won't affect their lives as in now, but they will in four years, then they came in the realization that every vote matters. Every policy made by a president or senator will have the following effect. Adulthood brings many new challenges, like school, marriage, mortgage, health insurance, and being an entrepreneur, all of which could radically transform your view on political issues.  At the same time as you can't predict who or where you may be in four years, you may make sure that the senator/president elected into the house and the policies they put into effect will impact your life within the coming months and years. Why don't vote? Speak up, cast a ballot, and take part inside the election to guard your interests in your life.