Marriage referendum engaged young people – can parties now court them?

On May 22nd, 2015, those who said that young people were apathetic, disengaged and didn’t vote were proven wrong. Polling stations across the country were reporting a higher youth turnout than they had previously seen. Social media was flooded with images of young people saying they had voted, flying home to cast their votes and telling their stories about what this referendum meant to them.

Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí ­ is an Irish language proverb which means “praise the young and they will flourish”.

Before the referendum, the youth vote was played down in many quarters with many doubting that the apparent youth support would translate at the ballot box. After the referendum, there was mixed coverage – most people commended the young for voting in such large numbers but the doubt can already be heard setting in again: ‘Was this a once off?’ ‘Will they engage with the general election?’

Why did young people vote in such high numbers and what will ensure that they continue to engage with politics?

The issue of marriage equality was one which sparked a community campaign like never before seen in Ireland – people of all ages were engaged. However, it is important to note that young people were encouraged to play leading roles in the campaign by civil society organisations and the student-led MakeGráTheLaw campaign mobilised thousands of student voters.

Social media played a huge role in the Yes campaign and the majority of this was co-ordinated by young people. Canvassing teams in many areas were led by young people. In essence, young people were empowered to play their part and their contribution was valued.

Outdated information

Young people are now enfranchised and very engaged. Of the 66,000 who registered on the supplemental register, many were first-time voters. In October 2014, the Union of Students in Ireland began a sustained seven-month direct voter-registration campaign which saw 27,633 forms sent off to city and county councils. More than 10,000 additional forms were handed out by students’ unions.

This was despite a lack of standardised guidelines from local authorities on how they would accept forms (in bulk or individual envelopes) and much outdated information on checktheregister.ie.

To maximise voter participation, Ireland needs to reform its voter registration system. A move towards a centralised voter registration system, that has online registration as an option, should be a priority for the Government.

Personal public service (PPS) numbers, coupled with valid identification, could also be used to verify an individual’s identity and this could entirely replace the inefficient requirement for the gardaí to stamp forms.

It was incredible to see so many people flying home to vote on May 22nd and it was clear that our citizens abroad want to help shape their country – Ireland should look to granting votes for all citizens abroad with the option of voting at Irish embassies. Automatic voter registration should also be looked at so that all those who reach the age of eligibility are included on the register.

Education on voting and politics is also an area that can be improved. Education on democracy and our political system should be ingrained in the primary school curriculum and reinforced throughout. An awareness campaign in secondary schools about the need to register to vote should also be targeted at those about to turn 18. A wonderful thing occurred with the marriage referendum: the barriers came down between public representatives and society. This was evident at Dublin Castle on May 23rd where civil society and politicians were celebrating together, shoulder to shoulder. It would be great if this was always the case.

Community spirit

For a country of our size, we have better access to our public representatives via constituency clinics than most countries but this doesn’t necessarily foster a community spirit within politics. Politics needs to come to the community and the establishment of more formalised public forums for young people to engage with their public representatives would go a long way to ensuring those barriers are kept down.

The first step to winning votes is to ask for those votes. This will start with an end to doubting young people and a recognition that young people are waiting to listen, help and engage with the formation of policies. There is a youth vote there to be courted in the upcomingelection and whichever party can best engage with young voters will stand to benefit. Laura Harmon is president of the Union of Students in Ireland