Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 23 Issue 2

and women (Gainous and Wagner 2007; Oostveen and Van den Besselaar 2004). We also argue that voting is a habit that individuals develop; if e-voting increases the turnout among young voters, then this might have a durable impact on their participation record. c) Participation beyond Formal Electoral Processes Beyond formal political and electoral processes and structures, there are a number of ways by which young people can be actively involved in decision- making processes and institutions that affect their environment and lives. These include structures that enable the youth to provide inputs and influence policy- making processes and structures that enable them to learn about policy-making processes. However, opportunities for the youth to participate in political processes depend largely on the political and cultural contexts, and a democratic environment is always favorable to participation in general. For the most part, promoting youth participation needs to be geared towards achieving levels relative to those of the rest of the population. For example, in Ukraine, a young activist mobilized young people in her community to open a youth radio station. Co-funded by the local government and USAID’s DOBRE program, it works to increase the involvement of local residents and civil society organizations in local government decision- making, while at the same time holding local officials accountable through monitoring . 4 d) Voting abstention and individual health In Kyrgyzstan, the youth united their voices ahead of the presidential vote in 2017 elections. The youth-led initiative succeeded in getting people, and the youth in particular, engaged in the electoral process. Voter turnout in the 2017 presidential elections was higher among young people aged 18-29, than in any other age group. The total number of young voters also increased by approximately 5%, compared with the 2015 parliamentary elections. In Kenya and other countries, the health policy is core to the political agenda. Therefore, failure of the youth to participate in the electoral process can influence their health in one way or the other. In democracies, voting is an important action through which citizens engage in the political process within a country or region. Through voting, we send a signal of support or dissent for policies that finally shape the social determinants of health, which subsequently influence who votes and who does not (Brown et al., 2020). Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age that shape health. They include factors, such as, 4 USAID, “Young Ukrainians Inspire Local Community Development,” (USAID, July 2018), https://www.usaid.gov/results-data/success- stories/young-people-ins pire-local-community-development. socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care (Artiga & Hinton, 2018). This shows that addressing social determinants of health is important for improving health and reducing longstanding disparities in health and health care systems. What is more, lower socio- economic position of an individual has been associated with poor health over the life course (Arah, 2008). As a result, voting abstention becomes an indicator of low social capital that ultimately leads to negative health effects. The general pattern is that individuals with poor health tend to abstain from voting, suggesting that politics and health are mutually exclusive. Participating in the democratic process might be instrumental to the well-being of the youth and the entire population in general. Youth participation in electoral processes is recognized as a human right, in line with Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which stipulates young people’s right to participate in decisions that affect them, including those regarding their health and well-being (Wigle et al., 2020). Therefore, the youth need to be aware of this fundamental right, considering that health is a political choice that is unevenly distributed; its determinants are dependent on political action, and health is a critical dimension of human rights and citizenship (Mackenbach, 2013). The youth can influence the processes that shapes the social determinants of health through voting as one of the key aspects of democratic engagement. Notice that voting has several effects on the social determinants of health. These include, determining on who holds political power, those in power in turn put forward and support policies that respond to the needs and demands of their constituents that shape the social determinants of their health, and finally the social determinants of health affect voting patterns (Brown et al., 2020). As such, there is need for the youth to better understand the functioning of politics, both nationally and locally and the mechanisms that connect politics to public health. VI. C onclusions and R ecommendations From the foregoing discussion, the authors conclude that in order for the youth to effectively participate in political and electoral processes, they need to be given proper tools, such as education and access to credible and requisite information that enables them to understand their role in the socio- political national discourse and actions that can promote their meaningful participation in elections. Engaging young people can also increase their understanding and interest in civic and political affairs, including fostering active citizenship. More significantly, the youth are more likely to feel that they are actively involved in decision-making processes, and that their © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue II Version I 68 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 C Can e-voting Improve Youth Voter Turnout?: Experiences from the Kenya 2022 General Elections