Political orthodoxy tells us that younger voters tend to be more progressive on issues like immigration. But in recent years, Europe has seen anti-migrant parties surge in the polls and gain youth support across the continent. In Norway, for example, survey data shows that 24 percent of young people favour limiting immigration "to a large extent" and 23 percent "to some extent."
What is preventing American's youngest voters from turning out? While voter enthusiasm is certainly key, systemic mechanisms uniquely hold this constitutionally protected class of voters at bay. In Montana, when the state Supreme Court struck down a 2024 voter suppression law that eliminated same-day registration, banned the use of student identification cards for voting, and prevented those recently turned 18 years old from access to vote-by-mail, the legislature was undeterred, passing a new law requiring aspiring student
According to recent polls, almost 40% of Spanish men aged between 18 and 34 say that they plan to vote for Vox, the far-right party. Vox won its first seat in the Spanish parliament in 2019 and now it is surging again. Its recent success is no longer a story of just male voters, either: 20% of young women say they would vote for Vox, with the biggest increase among the youngest voters in that group.