Good processes and timely evaluations in yesterday’s election
Young voters in particular go to the polls less often and thus exercise their right to influence local politics less frequently
Yesterday’s election went off without any major disruptions or problems throughout Frankfurt. Volt in the Römer not only welcomes the result of the election, but also looks positively on the processes. As befits our digital age, all interested citizens were able to check the numbers promptly online in the Votenmanager, and the processing of the numbers was also already available online this morning.
But once again, it is clear that young voters in particular are largely failing to exercise their right to political participation. Voter turnout among people between 18 and 24 was just 25.7%. This means that their votes accounted for a sobering 3.5% of the overall result. Even in the 25-34 age group, only 34.3% of eligible voters exercised their right to vote.
“Many young people take to the streets in the fight against racism or for the climate, for example. So our generation is not apolitical. It worries me that so many young people don’t vote and thus don’t have a say in who represents them. At the same time, democracy must mean that all population groups are represented. We will continue to maintain the good cooperation with, for example, the city students’ council and, in particular, push for the introduction of the youth parliament. In the course of the election period, we want to reach more young Frankfurt residents by trying out democratic innovations and breaking new ground in terms of communication. City politics must increase trust and interest in politics in general,” says Elisa Grote, spokesperson for citizen participation at Volt in the Römer.
In the runoff election for the office of Lord Mayor, it once again became clear that the generations have different preferences. While Mike Josef received between 65 and 72.7% of the votes in all age groups up to 44 years, Uwe Becker was only able to achieve this high level in the age group of over 70 years with 66.3%.
Volt im Römer sees politics – and of course itself – as having a duty to actively approach citizens and thereby create transparency and proximity for a trusting relationship.
