Why do large numbers of young people not vote in elections?

I'm not young, and I do not vote, and my daughter is 20 and she doesn't vote either. People who do not vote understand that elections do not mean choice, and that people in the parlament do not represent the whole population. However, if there were "none of the above" option on elections, which would be taken in count as a regular voice which represent one kind of opinion, and has a certain consequences if it represents a majority, a lot more non-voters would vote.

First of all the young people (and not only the "young people") which are interested enough in politics to follow it, only see, hear and read about "fat" politicians, who are in office for their own benefits and NOT for the benefits of the potential voters. Young people believe: 1) Why should I bother, no one listens to us anyway, 2) Why should I bother, no one takes us serious anyway, 3) Why should I bother, I can not change anything anyway. And you know what? They are correct! Politicians have no interest in young people. Whenever you see a politician surrounded by young people, it is just for media, promotion purposes. Politicians only care about big multinationals and their interests, in order to secure a nice and high paying job, when they are finally voted out of office or when their mandate expires. Why are all political parties in all European countries declining in members? Because the old members are slowly getting old and eventually die and no new young people sign up. I guess that in the future political parties as we know them today, will be just an ancient memory.

That is an easy one. We want less rules, at least less contradicting rules. But less rules means less civil servants.So there you go...

Maybe it's because people like Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Commissioner for Trade since 2014, publically stated I do NOT take my mandate from the European people, and get away with it and stay in function? Maybe it is because when the people of the Netherlands voted against the new trade deal with Ukraine, the EU ignored the outcome totally, didn't even choose to open discussions why they did it and how they could possibly come to a better solution etc, but just pushed ahead, agreed the deal anyway, and told the Dutch government to sort it somehow. Maybe it is because they are disillusioned about the current situation of mass youth unemployment, mass immigration, which makes it's even harder for the youth in some countries to compete for jobs, and despite the signs of discontent about the current EU policies Europe wide (think of Brexit, increased popularity of euro sceptics like Le Pen, Wilders etc etc), the EU's only action is to force down more more more EU instead of listening to it's own people's fears and worries. Summarizing, I think large numbers of the young people do not vote, because they feel their vote is irrelevant.

Because we feel like politics is not about us, it is something remote in our heads, and it is true. To change the situation is to change how things work. A more personal connection with a future president and with all the system is needed which involves a totally different approach using mobile phones and other technology, and a lot of investment on behalf of the system.

If we want to encourage young people to vote and get involved in EU policy, the answer is to introduce online voting.

Young people think you tell lies and this is why they ignore you.

I'm from Poland, and already I'm eighteen years old. If right now someone would have me vote, I would not vote for anyone. Polish politicians they don't have any options for young people. The politics they lead forces us to find a job in other country on a low bench. Young people knows that their voice does not matter at the voice of older citizens.We don't have a decent person to represent our rights.

Because the entire political system has been just a form of lobbying for the baby boomers generation for the last decades, and, on top of that, has also entered a phase of stagnating inefficiency (when not just plain stupid demagoguery) during the last 20+ years. Why vote for a politician if I think he or she won't make any difference?

Young people don't always fully understand the consequences of not voting, such as allowing the rise of fascist governments. There needs to be a more direct approach to teaching young people that their vote and opinions matter by reaching the type of media that they consume, such as social media.In many cases presidential campaigns and debates are broadcast on TV which is mostly consumed by older generations, so there needs to be an update done on politics to ensure that they are able to communicate properly and fully with newer generations by making them interested. When you want people to listen, you have to speak their language, and that is a huge part of the problem.