'Things are screwed anyway, why try?' Youth voter enrolment rate plummets
Youth voter enrolment in New Zealand has dropped to 53 percent, marking a six-election decline. Experts suggest that compulsory civics education or lowering the voting age could help address the growing apathy among young people.
Why it matters
Declining youth participation in democratic processes poses a long-term threat to political legitimacy and representative governance.
The enrolment rate for the country's youngest voters has plummeted to 53 percent, sliding for a sixth consecutive election year.
The Electoral Commission said it was pushing hard to get numbers up, while politicians have urged young people to get involved.
In 2011, 70 percent of 18-24 year olds were enrolled to vote by the end of June.
The number has dropped consistently since then, with 60 percent enrolled in 2023 - while the trend is reversed for those in their mid to late twenties.
Across all age groups, 89 percent of people are enrolled, which is up on the past two election years.
At Victoria University in Wellington, students who were enrolled - and those who were not - said they and their peers felt apathetic, ambivalent and nihilistic, and described feeling like their vote would not make any difference.
"Things are screwed anyway, why try?" one said.
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