Youth Voters: Did My Vote Really Count?
Ashley Mowreader at Inside Higher Ed:
Promoting civic engagement on college campuses is a priority for higher education institutions, particularly before an election, as is helping students to get involved in political discourse and use their voices.
But in the wake of this election, most students say they don’t feel like their vote matters.
A November Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse found 57 percent of college students feel like their voice/vote makes a difference not much or not at all following the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Only 14 percent of respondents said they strongly agree that their vote makes a difference, and the remaining 29 percent believe their vote matters somewhat.
Voter apathy is not unique to college students. Approximately one in three Americans said they felt exhausted with politics after the election. But campus leaders are hoping to keep young voters engaged in the democratic process, not seeing voting as the end goal but one piece of the puzzle.
