The 2019 General Election has begun to loom over the national news cycle. However, as December 12th creeps up on the United Kingdom, the problems with the voting process have begun to resurface.
The main issue is one of clarity. The website for registering to vote might well be easy to navigate - but this is useless if people fail to recognise the importance of signing up to begin with.
Youth turnout for Elections is notoriously low; Ipsos Mori estimated only 43% of 18-24 year olds voted in the 2015 Election compared with 78% of 65+ year olds. More recent YouGov figures approximate that 57% of 18 and 19 year olds voted in 2017’s, compared to 84% of those aged 75+.
The usefulness of voting may appear unclear - but it's certainly worth the hassle.
The Russell Brands of this world will insist that the democratic process isn't 'worth the hassle' - claiming that nothing important will change whether they register or not. The antidote to this is clarifying the benefits registering can have for each and every demographic.
If parties are conscious of high levels of youth-registration, they will make efforts to win it over. This is a truth which applies to both right and left-leaning parties, offering a net benefit of policies designed specifically to appeal to the young adults. Young people will continue to be an irrelevant political force until they are shown to be contributing to these turnout statistics.
Even if it means spoiling your ballot in the crudest, most offensive manner possible - be sure to register to vote this Election period.