年轻选民无情的谬误

Young voters

年轻选民
Apathetic fallacy
无情的谬误
Online voting could transform Britain's electorate
网络投票改变英国选民
Fancy a snap election?
喜欢临时选举？
ONE-BY-ONE they approach the lectern, explaining why they will cast their votes. “Regardless of whether you do or don't, policies will be implemented,” says Princess, an activist, to loud cheers. As politicians from the main parties all make their speeches, the atmosphere in the lecture theatre at Queen Mary University, in east London, is electric. This is what Citizens UK, a network of university bodies, youth groups and religious gatherings, does so well: using existing civil-society organisations to spur young people into political action, and holding invigorating assemblies to meld them together.
选民们一个一个走上将台，解释他们为什么要投下选票。“不管你投还不是不投，政策还是要实施，”活动家Princess大声欢呼道。各主要政党的代表们都发表演讲之后，东伦敦玛丽皇后大学的演讲厅充满了激昂的情绪。这就是一个大学机构、青年团体和宗教集会网络Citizens UK擅长的伎俩：利用现有的民间社会组织来鼓励年轻人参与政治并举办鼓舞人心的集会来团结他们。
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It is also the exception. At the 2010 election, according to Ipsos MORI, 44% of Britons aged between 18 and 24 voted, compared with 76% of those aged 65 and over (national turnout was 65%). The gap is relatively new: it was half the size in 1970, and has grown significantly only over the past two decades. It is also starker than elsewhere. In the German election in 2013, for example, 64% of first-time voters cast their ballots, compared with 75% for over-70s. Britain's low youth turnout helps to explain why the outgoing, Conservative-led government has protected public spending on older voters (guaranteeing increases in the state pension, for example) while doing little to solve a housing shortage, which affects the young most acutely.