Engaging the SA youth vote: a critical factor in the 2024 elections

Thirty years since the country’s first democratic election, SA’s 2024 national and provincial elections will play out in a time that’s deeply troubled by an unrelenting energy crisis, sustained high inflation, high crime and high unemployment, rampant corruption and water scarcity.

In the run-up to these elections — arguably the most significant since 1994 — we will frequently be seeing polling data emerging from all sides.

The SA Voter Sentiment Report, however, comes out of a survey that is more nuanced and multidimensional than typical polling research. While the full report will only be released later this year, the survey has already highlighted a glaring gap in youth representation within the registered voter base.

Less than 20% of South Africans aged 18-19 years and only 40% of the 20-29 age group are registered voters. There are almost 7-million unregistered voters under 30 years and close to 11-million unregistered voters under 40 years of age. This data underscores a substantial opportunity and highlights the urgent need to mobilise the youth vote.

Conducted in the final three months of 2023, the SA Voter Sentiment Survey is the result of a collaboration between WhyFive Insights, the consumer insights consultancy well known for its annual BrandMapp consumer landscape study, MoyaApp, the data-free super app used by millions of South Africans, and SilverstoneCIS, with its omnichannel, mobile-first research platform, FlashPanel.   

“The SA Voter Sentiment Survey is a fascinating deep dive into the perceptions, needs and drivers that will affect voter behaviour,” says Brandon de Kock, WhyFive’s director of storytelling.

“As South African businesses with a deep interest in the future of our country, WhyFive, MoyaApp and SilverstoneCIS were motivated by a desire to look deeper than the ballot box and determine the possible motivations behind every ‘X’ on each piece of paper that dictates who gets to steer the ship for the next cycle.

“Our intention was to measure the mindset and drivers behind voter decision-making, rather than possible results. We aimed to investigate what the big shifts in the landscape might be, and just how big or small the surprises that lie in store may be.”

A total 12,668 eligible South African voters participated in the SA Voter Sentiment Survey through diverse channels, including email, SMS and WhatsApp. “What is unique is that this outreach to voters was entirely through politically unaffiliated bases such as the MoyaApp database and SilverstoneCIS’s FlashPanel respondent databases,” says De Kock. “This methodology ensured a near-random total raw sample, fully inclusive of our rural populations, providing a comprehensive view of voter sentiments.”

De Kock emphasises that the chronically low levels of voter registration among the youth represents a significant wild card in the 2024 elections. “It is evident that neglecting the youth demographic not only overlooks a significant portion of the electorate but also disregards the diverse perspectives, aspirations and concerns that the youth bring to the political landscape,” he says.

“To address this imbalance and harness the power of the youth vote, intentional efforts are needed to seriously roll out voter education and increase youth voter registration, raising awareness about the importance of political engagement and addressing issues pertinent to our younger demographic. It’s likely that there is going to be an advantage to those who are successful in engaging young voters.”

This article was sponsored by WhyFive.