O voto jovem e as eleições para o Parlamento Europeu

Abstract

In the May 2014 elections to the European Parliament (EP), the issue of electoral mobilization is, again, at the center of the debate, while political parties, governments and the European Union (EU) itself try to motivate the voter to participate in the ballot and fight abstention, each poll higher. An even precise challenge is to captivate the youth vote between 18 and 24 years old. This essay thus seeks to focus specifically on the youth vote issue, which the EU itself identifies as being a concern. In this sense, the essay begins with a brief Portuguese literature review about the EP elections and especially on the youth vote, political participation of young people and citizenship; and then explores empirically, using the most recent data available, the effective participation of young people in the EP elections, particularly in Portugal and already focusing the May 2014 elections.