Why Hong Kong’s election newcomers need to stir young people to get out and vote
Radicals looking to grab Legco seats face a steep battle as it’s conservative older people who traditionally cast their ballots in greater numbers
According to a Post study of election turnout from 2008 to 2015, those aged 18 to 35 were the least active voters, with a turnout rate constantly below Hong Kong’s overall average.
Although the turnout among young voters in the district council elections last November surged from 29.9 per cent in 2011 to 36.6 per cent in the wake of the Occupy movement, they still trailed far behind the 53.1 per cent turnout for those aged 61 or above.
In one extreme case, almost 62 per cent of voters aged 66 to 70 cast their ballots in the last Legco polls, when the average turnout was 55.2 per cent. Only 42.3 per cent of voters aged between 18 and 20 cast their ballots that year.
Elderly electors are traditionally regarded as having a pro-establishment inclination. Last year the Post revealed how pro-Beijing parties helped residents of elderly homes to register as voters, subsequently ferried them to polling stations and allegedly told them who to vote for.