Conventional wisdom holds that young people bring passion to politics but don’t necessarily match their intentions with actions at the polling booth.
In the March quarter of 2019, youth enrolment was 85.8%, with 1,633,471 young people registered to vote. In the March quarter of 2022, youth enrolment sat at 85.4%, with 1,645,091 young people registered to vote.
The 0.4% difference may not seem that great, but it may make the difference, given the razor-thin margin with which the Coalition formed its three-seat majority at the last election.
People aged between 16 and 24 who are enrolled to vote account for almost 10% of the nation’s total, according to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).
The 2019 federal election saw the highest youth enrolment rates recorded with 88.9% in the June quarter. It is yet to be seen whether this year’s June statistics top that.
Callum Foote was a reporter for Michael West Media for four years.