Report
Unga väljare är inga oskrivna blad
2026Lundberg, E.I Bolin, N. m.fl. (red.), Snabbtänkt: Reflektioner från valet 2026 av ledande forskare (DEMICOM-rapport nr 57). Mittuniversitetet
What is this study about?
The text discusses what young voters bring with them into their first election. The starting point is that political attitudes, motivations and notions of democratic participation begin to develop long before a person is able to vote for the first time. Drawing on research on political socialization and longitudinal studies, it discusses how experiences during adolescence can lay the foundation for later political participation.
What did we find?
The research shows that young people enter their first election with political experiences and orientations that have developed over several years. Political interest, notions of civic duties and confidence in one's own ability to understand and influence politics can be formed already during adolescence and be associated with later electoral participation. Previous experiences of associational life and other forms of participation can also contribute to this development. The first-time voter is therefore not a political blank slate when the election campaign begins.
Why does it matter?
If political participation is laid down long before the first election, it is not enough to understand young people's electoral participation in terms of what happens during the election campaign itself. Schools, families, civil society and other settings where young people encounter societal issues can matter for how their political orientations develop. This also means that differences in political participation can begin to emerge already during adolescence – long before young people go to the polls for the first time.
Citation
Lundberg, E. (2026) Unga väljare är inga oskrivna blad. I Bolin, N. m.fl. (red.), Snabbtänkt: Reflektioner från valet 2026 av ledande forskare (DEMICOM-rapport nr 57). Mittuniversitetet
Research area
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