A polling station is signposted. When young voters head to the polls this year, might they be faced with barriers to voting that older voters may not.

Jasmine Howard

On the 22nd May Rishi Sunak announced a General Election. After a long 14 years of shady tactics, unfulfilled promises, and downright buffoonery, it’s high time the British public got rid of the Conservatives.

This time, the responsibility falls on students and young voters to make a difference.

Despite students having the power to kick the Tories out of power, the Electoral Commission has found that 18-24 year olds are least likely to vote. Their election turnout also historically lags behind other age groups. But youth turnout has certainly been on the rise over the last decade –and that poses a direct threat to a Conservative party already struggling to maintain older votes.

The Conservatives are very much aware of what could happen if students actually went out and voted. As a result, they have actively tried to stop us. Young voters are already being excluded from stable incomes, housing and jobs – are we really about to lose our vote, too?

YOUNG VOTERS AND STUDENTS FACE BARRIERS TO REGISTRATION

Registering to vote under a new term-time address, or applying to vote postally from a family home may not be very high on a fresher’s to-do list. Between a new course, new city, and new friends, there’s not much time for filling in online forms on the off-chance an election will happen – especially if you’re only living there for a few months. This is the first barrier students face when it comes to voting – and it stands for young people just entering the job market, too. With an increasingly unstable rental market, and Section 21 no-fault evictions at an all time high, young voters are being pushed from home to home like never before.

“Already juggling unstable housing and stagnated wages, the onus to register and re-register falls on their shoulders”

NUS are encouraging universities to help students register to vote when they enrol onto their course each year. This is something that every university should be jumping at the chance to do. Of course, it’s no easy task, but it’s a step in the right direction towards every eligible student being registered to vote. But there is no such help for young people who have already graduated university. Already juggling unstable housing and stagnated wages, the onus to register and re-register falls on their shoulders. This just isn’t a worry many older, home-owning voters will have to contend with.

YOUNG VOTERS’ ID NOT VALID – BUT OLDER VOTERS’ IS

Since the introduction of the Elections Act in April 2022, voter ID is now necessary to vote in many British elections. We had our first taste of this back in May, with the local and mayoral elections that took place across England. Again, voter ID will be necessary to vote in the upcoming General Election.

Hopefully someone will remind Boris Johnson this time.

What does this mean in practice? Students will need to bring a valid form of identification with them when they vote. Namely: a Voter Authority Certificate, passport or a driving license are acceptable, but student ID cards will not be accepted. In fact, there’s been an active push to keep Student IDs from being accepted as valid ID. Leaked communications Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer showed that proposals to accept veteran ID as valid were rejected, as Sunak didn’t want to “open the floodgates” for student ID to also be accepted. Yet no such consideration was made when it was announced that pensioner bus passes would be accepted, but not youth passes.

YOUNG VOTERS’ TO-DO LIST

With all this in mind, it’s imperative that young voters complete the following checklist to make sure their vote is cast successfully.

  1. REGISTER! You have until the 18th June to register for the election on the 4th July. You can register here – it only takes 5 minutes. All you need is your national insurance number.
  2. Make sure you take your ID with you to the polling station. If you don’t have a driving license or passport, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate online Students can also check out the NUS website, and order a free voter ID card.
  3. Find your polling station! If you put your postcode into this website, it will tell you where your nearest polling station is. This information should also be available on your polling card.
  4. VOTE!! Get out there on 4th July and make your vote count.

Don’t miss out on your vote. If you’re calling for change, put your money where your mouth is by getting out to the polls. Let’s make this country a better place for all people of all backgrounds.

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Photo courtesy of Red Dot on Unsplash. No changes made to this photo. License available here.

I'm a Fashion Design and Communications Graduate who currently works as a Students Union President. I run the Pop Babble podcast and I am an Entertainment Editor here at Empoword. My career goal is to be a fashion historian/journalist!

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