2025 Summer Research Symposium • Haley Aleman • July 9, 2025

Haley Aleman

Class of 2026

Major: Political Science

Mentor: Leona Pallansch, PhD, St. Mary’s University

Why Aren’t Young Adults Voting? A Quantitative Analysis

Even though college aged students are one of the largest elibible voting blocks within the United

States, students have in the past demonstrated low voter turnout in elections. This study aims to

explore what the underlying causes of this phenomenon are through asking: Why are college

aged students not voting? Through this, it is specifically investigated if voter disengagement

stems from a sense of political apathy or rather from issues regarding accessibility. Using data

from the American Nation Election Studies (ANES) database, responses from individuals aged

18 to 26 are analyzed in order to assess the relatiuonship between different barriers that may be

contributing to a lack of electoral participation. To determine whether there are statistically

significant relationships present between these multifaceted factors and the voting behavior of

young adults, chi-square tests of independence will be employed. The primary goals of this study

is to clarify is the present disengagement and offer a more nuanced understanding of voting

behavior of young college aged individuals. Findings from this statistical analysis aim to inform

future outreach and civic engagement promotion among universities to better support and

increase participation in young voters.

Keywords: Young voters, Young college voters, Youth vote, Youth voter turnout,

Student voting behavior, Voter disengagement, Voting barriers, Voter

accessibility, Civic engagement, American National Election Studies (ANES)