Turnout among youngest voters was below 20 per cent in the last N.S. election

Meredith Kent fits the profile of an engaged voter.

The 25-year-old Halifax resident, who cast her ballot in last year's provincial election, continues to follow politics after studying political science and public policy in university.

"Even if I didn't have that, I just think it's important to have a say," she said in an interview.

But Kent is in the minority in her age group when it comes to that view.

Elections Nova Scotia released the statement of votes and statistics for the November election this week and data in the document shows a continuing decline in voter turnout, particularly among people younger than 35.

Overall turnout was 44.9 per cent among registered voters. That was the lowest in the province's history and the first time it fell below the 50 per cent mark.

Concern for future elections

In the 18-24 demographic, just 16.6 per cent of people cast a ballot, while 23.8 per cent of people ages 25-34 voted. Conversely, 66.6 per cent of people who are 75 or older marked an X — the highest of any demographic, followed by the 65-74 cohort at 65.9 per cent.

No other demographic topped 50 per cent.

Lori Turnbull, chair of the public and international affairs department in Dalhousie University's faculty of management, said the trend of low voter turnout among young people has persisted for the last 20 years.

But Turnbull said the continuation of that trend risks a spillover effect for future elections.

"One of the issues is that if you don't vote in your first election, you're less likely to vote in subsequent elections and so it's not just a young voter turnout issue," she said.

"It could stay with us and then we've got a broader turnout issue overall."

At least for the most recent Nova Scotia election, the numbers seem to back up that concern.

Turnout for the 35-44 demographic was 34.7 per cent and it was 39.5 per cent for the 45-54 age group. Even the 55-64 cohort fell below 50 per cent, with 48.1 per cent of that population casting a ballot.

Turnbull said there can be a variety of reasons why people might not participate in an election, including if it seems like the result is a foregone conclusion. In Nova Scotia's case, the incumbent Progressive Conservatives were well ahead in the polls even before Premier Tim Houston broke his fixed election date promise and called the snap election.

The PCs won a resounding 43 of 55 seats, earning a supermajority in the Nova Scotia Legislature.

Elections Nova Scotia also decided not to send out voter information cards for the election, fearing they might not make it to people's homes before a looming postal strike. Candidates and party volunteers said during the election that the lack of those cards had some people unsure of when or where to vote or even whether an election was happening at all.

A role for government to play

Turnbull said there are options that could be explored to get more young people engaged, including lowering the voting age to 16 and a greater effort on the part of political parties to connect with young people.

The government can also play a part in the effort to boost voter engagement, she said.

"It is entirely the role of the government to invest in the health of democracy, including ensuring that people have that sense of civic responsibility at a young age, because voting is habit-forming — if you don't do it when you're young, you're probably not going to pick it up later."

Leah Martin, Nova Scotia's cabinet minister responsible for youth, said in an interview that "there's a major role for government to play in encouraging participation."

'They want to see that their vote counts'

Martin said it's important for elected officials to not only listen to young people, but then act on what they hear.

"What I've heard is that youth really want to help shape and guide the future and they want to also define what that looks like," she said.

Despite the low turnout in the provincial election, Martin said she was heartened by the much higher participation in the recent federal election.

Kent said she isn't surprised by the low voter turnout. She thinks there needs to be a greater effort to show people a direct connection between their vote and their lives.

"There has to be some way where people can see that their vote matters and that their voice matters," she said.

"I think that's what a lot of young people who feel maybe disenfranchised or distrusting, they want to see that their vote counts toward something and it matters and it can make change."