Too young to win? Exploring the sources of age-related electoral disadvantage

Abstract

Young people continue to be underrepresented in formal politics. Previous research indicates that being a nonmiddle-aged candidate negatively affects electoral success. What are the origins of this performance gap? This article explores three potential sources of age-related disadvantage: Party affiliation, individual resources, and direct party and voter support. Drawing on data from 21 OECD countries, I show, first, that many age-related disadvantages take a non-linear shape. Both young and senior candidates run for smaller, poorer, and more marginal parties. They spend significantly less money on their campaigns than middle-aged competitors, and young candidates furthermore lack political experience. Young and senior candidates are placed on lower list positions in party-centred electoral systems and receive fewer preference votes in candidate-centred systems. Thus, both parties and voters fail to effectively counter structural age-disadvantages. This article contributes to our understanding of the shape and origins of age-related electoral disadvantages and illustrates the multifaceted reasons for youth’s continued political under-representation.