The First-Time Voter Project is following the lead-up to the 2025 Federal Election to identify barriers first-time voters may face in deciding who should lead our nation.
So far we have observed an overwhelming lack of confidence in how to vote and who to vote for. We also found a number of people mentioning that they felt more familiar with and informed about US politics than Australian politics. So, in the fifth instalment of our Voter Voices series, we asked first-time voters to compare their knowledge of US and Australian politics, and why they felt they knew more about one or the other.
As a growing number of US headlines continue to be shared via social media platforms, young voters are often exposed to news coming out of both countries. This was reflected in many responses we gathered today, even from those who said they felt less educated about politics in general.
Here’s what they said:
“I probably know more about US politics. I feel like I’ve learnt more in the past how the US politics works and how the voting system works more than the Australian. I know we vote for seats but it’s a lot more left-wing/right-wing than Australia. It’s very complicated. It’s a lot of little things. It’s like some parties are focusing more on progression but then other parts of that party [aren’t], which is a bit of a struggle for voting.” Blake, he/him.
“Honestly, I think I know more about the Australian election. I watch the news every night. I pay attention to the news more about our politics. [What I know about US politics is] just what Dad’s shouting about on TikTok really.” Jessica, she/her.
“I would say I know more about American politics because that’s more discussed in the media nowadays. I would say that in Australia, the way things are going, we would vote for whoever because we don’t want somebody else to go into power not mainly because of someone’s policies. So, for example, Albanese, he’s been in power for four years, but people would be most likely to vote for him instead of Dutton because we don’t want a ‘Temu Trump’, as the Labor [Note: It was Greens MP Stephen Bates who said “Temu Trump”] government says. But then again, what have they really done for us for four years? You know what I mean?” Omveer, he/him.
“I’d say American politics. I feel like social media just kind of pushes it a lot. Even if you’re not from there, you just hear about it everywhere. Especially [through] news and social media.” Yakub, he/him.
“I don’t really know much about politics, but I’d say that I know more about Australian politics than American politics.” Hera, she/her.
“I’d say I know more about Australian politics. I try to avoid American politics, it’s not relevant to me and it just stresses me out for no reason.” Vovio, he/they.
“I probably know more about American [politics] because I have family in Canada, so they talk about it a lot and just, you know, how it affects them. I don’t know much about Australian [politics] just because no one talks about it.” Ethan, he/him.
“I’d probably say maybe a similar amount. Like both somewhat American and Australian, because I do follow the Australian news, but there is also a lot of stuff on social media and stuff about American politics. So, I would say that it’s fairly equal.” Connor, he/him.
“I kind of know more about how [the] Australian government works. I think I’ve bothered to try to understand more about US politics because I feel like stuff’s more extreme there. Basically, given that we have world leaders up there, whereas we’re only a medium-power country, I feel like that’s more important. We tend to copy whatever the US does.” Ben, he/him.
“I know more about American politics because it’s more interesting to me.” Jesse, he/him.
“I probably know a lot more about the US to be honest, just all news media shows a lot about it.” Lawson, he/him.
“Honestly, I probably know more about American politics because it’s advertised more, especially with Trump. With Australian [politics], I live under a rock. I don’t really know much about what’s going on. I didn’t really know there was an upcoming election.” Jake, he/him.
Article: by Alex Osborne and Harvey Constable
Photo: by Stanley Morales found HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has been made black and white. The original image was in colour.