Are Young Voters Apathetic? Taiwan's 2016 and 2020 Presidential Elections

• In Event: Exploring Political Dynamics in Taiwan: Finance, Media, and Democratic Support

Abstract

Young people are less likely to show up in conventional activities such as voting or campaign activities. Scholars pointed out that the absence of young people in voting is one of the reasons that led to a declining turnout in many democracies. In Taiwan, studies of voting behavior show that young people are less likely to go to vote as well. Thus, in the studies of political participation, many researchers show their concern for young people’s low level of participation.

According to a report of the 2020 presidential election from the Central Election Commission (CEC), young people, however, display a significantly higher turnout rate than the 2016 presidential election. What accounts for the significant disparity in young voters’ turnout between 2016 and 2020? Do young people really turn away from traditional political participation?

In order to tackle the questions above, both marco- and micro- level data will be analysed in this paper. First of all, the CEC's voter turnout data are analyzed to demonstrate a difference in young voters' turnout rates between the two presidential elections. Secondly, demographic data will be combined with CEC voter turnout data to determine whether the difference in young voter turnout between the two elections was a universal phenomenon across regions or a function of specific demographics at the aggregate level. Thirdly, the Taiwan's Election and Democratization Study (TEDS) post-election survey data will be analyzed to determine whether the same conclusions will be drawn between CEC voter turnout data and TEDS survey data for the two presidential elections. Lastly, this study focuses on young people's attitudes toward politics, such as political interest, political trust, democratic values, and attitudes toward critical issues from the TEDS survey data to explain changes in young voters' voting behavior.

A possible explanation is that young people in 2020 displayed a higher level of political interest and democratic values than before. Due to political interest and democratic values, young voters were inclined to respond to critical issues during the 2020 presidential election, such as the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition movement.

Authors

• Kuang-hui Chen, National Chung Cheng University

• Chiung Chu Lin, National Chung Cheng Univeristy

• Wenjong Juang, National Chung Cheng University