In any country, the political scene can be a confusing one, but with an election coming in the near future, it is time for young people to have a seat at the table.

We all know the Progressive Labour Party and One Bermuda Alliance — we may have assumptions about each party. Some of you may align with the party your family align with or maybe you have no preference. When I, an 18-year-old girl, began working as an intern at The Royal Gazette, a place with substantial political coverage, it became increasingly clear how disconnected I felt from the Bermudian political sphere, and it occurred to me how many young people were potentially feeling the same way.

We know the feeling all too well: steering clear of politics because we don’t care, we don’t think we’ll make a difference, it’s too complicated, or perhaps we weren’t taught. Whatever the reasons, young Bermudians feel disoriented when it comes to their country’s politics.

According to Pew Research Centre, in the US 2020 election, baby-boomers and members of the Silent Generation made up less than half, or 40 per cent, of the electorate, falling below the 52 per cent totalled in 2016 and 2018. Gen Z and millennial voters favoured Joe Biden over Donald Trump by margins of about 20 points, while Gen Xers and baby-boomers were more evenly split in their preferences. The US saw a significant increase in the involvement of young people in the 2020 election — if it wasn’t physically at the polls, Gen Zers could be seen voicing their thoughts on social media platforms such as Instagram or X.

It is a shame we can’t assume the same for our young Bermudians. Now, more than ever, we need to know the leaders who are making the decisions that manipulate our futures. We must know the policies and laws that said leaders stand for. It is time for young people to have a collective voice in Bermuda’s elections because, quite frankly, we need it.

This article, without proof, would just be my outlook on the situation. While I think that, through no fault of their own, young Bermudians are lost regarding Bermuda politics, it would be silly to not incorporate their voices in this piece.

Over two days this month, The Royal Gazette intern team set out to speak to young people and get their views on the topic. We conducted street interviews in Hamilton with a view to capturing a variety of perspectives and experiences. Excluding the number of young people who heard the word “politics” and declined the interview, we ended up speaking to 11 between the age of 16 and 31 to find out their thoughts on the subject.

We first asked the young people under 18 to rate their knowledge of Bermuda politics on a scale from 1 to 10 — 1 being knowing nothing and 10 being the most confident. The highest number we received was a 5 and the lowest was 0. The most common number we received was 3. Most of the interviewees explained that their answers were low because of a lack of education in both public and private schools.

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Edward Smith, 16, said that his education of Bermuda politics “wasn’t that thorough”.

“I’d rate the extent of what we learnt at a 3,” he said. “In terms of learning about politics and who runs our country, it wasn’t that great.”

Jada X, 17, who rated her knowledge a 3, felt her education was limited.

“I haven’t learnt much in school about Bermuda politics, other than some stuff about the PLP,” she said.

Rory Pollett, 17, had a similar experience in that he only “really knows about the Premier and not so much about the other politicians”.

Several young people also mentioned that, of the things they did learn in school, the subject matter was outdated.

Sydney Santos, 17, feels “like [she] learnt about old politics and who the premiers and government used to be. Unfortunately, we didn’t learn anything current."

Jabri Hayward, 17, echoed this statement.

“They taught us about old politics but rarely anything about what was currently going on in Bermuda,” he said.

I cannot stress how important it is for young people to know what is going on in the political world. It would be unreasonable to assume all young people would know every detail, but it is vital to know whose hands your future is in and what policies will shape your future.

We then posed the question: what do you want politicians to not only address but do something about?

Eden Furbert, 17 wants the “Bermudian Government to give a lot of attention to the education system, even as it is going through a big change.”

Edward Smith feels that safety is the biggest issue he wants the Government to pay attention to.

“In terms of safety it is important that, as young people, we feel protected,” he said.

He added: “Lately, it’s a lot harder to justify going out because something might happen. If we are going to live in this world, then we need to address those problems — those are the kind of things we aren’t prepared for as a small island. We need to learn what to do and how to prevent them, so they don’t keep happening.”

Sydney Santos and Margarida Simas, 16, agreed that violence is the most concerning issue among young people, and that Bermuda needs to change.

Jabri Hayward recognised the Government’s roads initiatives as something it has addressed, as road fatalities are increasing among young people.

“I have seen the Government fix the roads because, most of the time, the roads had a lot of potholes in them,” he said. “I’ve noticed that when I go home, there aren’t as many.”

Of the people we interviewed who are over 18, only two out of the five were registered voters in Bermuda. Asked what they take into account when voting, there were mixed answers.

Kylah Sanchez, 31, votes for “the people I see putting in effort, the ones who aren’t just making the calls, but showing up and getting things done”.

Nadir Young, 24, a registered voter who is in school overseas, thinks he needs to learn a lot more before voting again.

“I am not that great at voting because I haven’t been keeping up as much as I should,” he said. “I usually just go with whoever my mum tells me to vote for.”

We then wanted to see young people’s thoughts on topics that are being debated in government right now, so we asked for views on the absentee ballot.

All interviewees agreed that young students who study overseas should be able to participate in Bermuda elections.

Indasia Showers, 25, is in favour of the absentee vote because “people overseas are still a part of the Bermuda community at large”.

Kylah Sanchez echoed that sentiment: “These are Bermudians who are trying to help decide the future of Bermuda, so why not?”

Eden Furbert added: “At the end of the day, it’s their home and they should have an input on what is happening on the island.”

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So, now comes the pinnacle of this article: why am I writing it in the first place?

The answer lies in the questions. Why should young people vote? Why should we be involved in politics? Why does it matter?

Eden Furbert believes that young people should vote because “young people have new ideas and bring different topics and themes to the table that older generations wouldn’t think about.”

Jabri Hayward thinks young people bring “their own point of view, which should be valued”.

Edward Smith thinks young people should care about their future.

“If an older person votes, they’re not going to be around as long for those effects to actually hit them,” he said. “Someone just going to high school now is going to be primarily affected by whatever the Government decides to do.”

"We [young people] are the ones that should be making those choices because in the end, it’s going to affect us the most.”

• Additional reporting and collaboration by Tajer Basden, Nkenge Boyles and Gabriel Burgess. For more information on how to register to vote, visit www.elections.gov.bm