Will first-time voters be influenced by their family’s political views when they vote in the upcoming election?
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.
In the second instalment of our Voter’s Voices series, we asked first-time voters how confident they felt about which party to vote for. While we received a fairly mixed bag of responses, some voters mentioned “consulting with their family” when deciding who to vote for. Research from the 2022 election also found that 40 percent of Generation Z voters vote the same way as their parents. So, this time we decided to ask them about family influence.
We asked: How do you think your family’s political views will shape how you vote in this Federal Election?
“It’ll probably strongly influence it quite a bit because that’s who raised me and all that. We just don’t like politics very much. We don’t talk about it in depth that much.” Chanelle, 18, she/her
“It’ll probably mostly determine [my vote] because that’s most of the voices I’m hearing right now, really. During the election in America, it was a real big subject in my house.” Saul, 18, he/him
“My family is very political and lean towards one way. But I also see where they are coming from, so most likely I will be voting the same.” Asher, 19, he/him
“I mean, we’re pretty environmentally aware. So, probably Greens I’d say. I think it’s like a general, ‘oh yeah, Greens again’.” Conor, 19, he/him
“I think I’ll probably [vote] pretty similar to my parents. I think I’m a bit stronger. I have stronger views than they do.” Jesse, 18, he/him
“I feel like I spend more time with one parent than the other. I feel my view has completely moved to my main parent. So, whatever I hear my mum talking about will shape how I vote for this election.” Aditi, 19, she/her
“Probably not at all, because of different industries. Dad works in more construction areas and mum’s in business but they both lean more one way than the other and I don’t really see a point in going one way or the other. I don’t like either of the parties anyway.” Owen, 19, he/him
“I guess it’s through religious views and cultural values is how they raised me. I guess I vote according to how my views align with whatever political party ‘chooses me’.” Shannelle, 18, she/her
“They [her parents] don’t like that we have different views. We’ve grown with this society, so we’re more like what other people are doing and how the government’s changing. That’s how we act.” Dhritia 20, she/her
“My dad does international relations, so it’s pretty frequently talked about. I think I agree with most of what they talk about. Yeah, it will have a pretty big impact.” Finn, 18, he/him
“I don’t really have a political view. I don’t even know who’s running for it. We don’t really talk about it.” Lia, 18, she/her
“I think I’ll probably vote the same party as them because that’s how I’ve grown up. They are Labor side.” Zoe, 18, she/her
“My family has always been very inclusive of different people’s opinions and encouraged me to speak my own. I wouldn’t say they’ve influenced me in terms of picking a party. They’ve influenced me and empowered me to do my own research and make my own opinions.” Emily, 18, she/her
“I think I’ve taken on pretty similar political views to my parents. So, a fair bit I’d say.” Liam, 18, he/him
Article: by Amy Ditcham and Kate-Lily Pavic
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 colour.