Thread by @eichhorn_jan

What's been the long-term impact of #VotesAt16 in Scotland? @c_huebner and I answer this question in a new study. Key message: There's a positive impact on turnout - but more to be done on inequality
Read the report: sps.ed.ac.uk/votes-at-16-in… 1/8 @d_part @shefmethods @uoessps

Crucially, we found that amongst young Scots (16-31), those whose first vote was at 16/17, more turned out in the #SP21 #Holyrood elections than those who could only vote at 18. This effect is robust to including controls and also if we only look at 18-31-year olds. 2/8

In short: there's been a positive lasting effect on youth turnout from #VotesAt16, breaking the usual pattern of turnout decline in the early 20s. However, we see no difference in non-electoral engagement between those who could vote at 16 or 18.
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Also, while voting earlier is associated with greater overall turnout, common inequality patterns in participation by social class persist in early adulthood. We continue to see a strong influence of parental background on levels of political engagement.
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However, #VotesAt16 may offer an opportunity. Inequality in turnout is not so visible amongst current 16- and 17-year olds. We already saw this in 2015, so the question is: How do we prevent the gap in turnout to widen as turnout increases? 5/8

Good civic education matters! Young people who recall having had classes in school in which political issues were discussed were more likely to be politically engaged later on. It's time to ensure that deliberative civic education benefits all young people equally. 6/8

You'll find more details of our analysis and a description of our sample of over 900 16-31-year-olds surveyed just after the #SP21 elections in our report: sps.ed.ac.uk/votes-at-16-in…. 7/8

If you want to discuss #VotesAt16 more, tomorrow @c_huebner & I are launching a new report on best practice on implementing earlier enfranchisement. Join us by signing up here: dpart.org/event-votes-at… 8/8 @JessBlair7 @cdceumd @SNFAgoraJHU @ERScymru @Vote16Canada @ScottLWarren