What Motivates You to Vote: Trust in the Political System or Belief in Your Impact?

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Natalie Shen
Natalie Shen

Hi! My name is Natalie Shen (she/her) and I am a freshman majoring in CSS (College of Social Studies) from Long Island, New York. As someone interested in researching the role of government, politics, and citizenship, this project helped me discover new insights.

Abstract: In a tumultuous political climate, voting is more crucial than ever towards enacting change and sustaining a democratic system. It would thus be beneficial to understand what characteristics motivate individuals to politically participate. How does trust (or the lack thereof) in the governmental system affect your civic engagement? How does confidence in your ability to influence the course of politics relate to voting behavior? My research found that political self-efficacy is of greater importance towards influencing voting compared to political trust, which may suggest that educational and civic institutions must work to improve self-efficacy levels to increase political participation.

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