Electoral turnout for young people peaks immediately after their enfranchisement then falls sharply

In several countries across Europe younger voters exhibit much lower levels of turnout than older citizens. However, less well understood are the differences in turnout among young people. Based on elections in Finland and Denmark, Yosef Bhatti, Kasper M Hansen, and Hanna Wass show that turnout is highest when young people can vote immediately after being enfranchised, but then falls away sharply. This phenomenon, they argue, supports some of the arguments in favour of lowering the voting age to 16.