Younger Options, More Voters? Candidate Age and Youth Turnout in U.S. Elections

• In Event: Emerging Scholars Lightning Round: Undergraduate Research

Abstract

For decades, youth voter turnout has been disproportionately low in U.S. elections. While previous research has attributed this to restrictive voting laws and a lack of civics education, I theorize that this low turnout results from a lack of representative (younger) candidates on the ballot. To test this hypothesis, I conducted a correlational study evaluating the relationship between candidate age and youth voter turnout in U.S. midterm and presidential elections. I also conducted a survey experiment examining the extent to which young voters feel represented by younger candidates and whether feelings of being well-represented translate into a greater inclination to vote. While youth voter turnout was higher in elections with older candidates, this relationship was only marginally significant when I controlled for election type. Consistent with this finding, young voters felt more represented by younger candidates, but this did not impact their willingness to vote. Contrary to my predictions, these findings suggest that candidate age is not an important factor in motivating youth voter turnout.

Author

• Emily Rusting, University of California, Los Angeles