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One of the first lessons I learned when I tried to run for local office is that politics is less about ideas than it is about paperwork.
I was in my early twenties, excited to run for alderman. I thought I could bring fresh energy to my community. At the time I had the encouragement of my political party, but I had no roadmap. To get on the ballot I needed petitions, signatures, filings, legal documents. I assumed there would be a local office to help me sort it out. Instead I found myself bouncing from one municipal desk to another, carrying forms I did not fully understand, waiting for someone to point me in the right direction.
No one could give me a straight answer. Each office sent me elsewhere, like a bureaucratic maze with no exit. Deadlines loomed, mistakes meant starting over. What should have been an exciting entry into public service turned into administrative futility. I was determined but not naive. Without legal guidance it was almost impossible to keep up.
The party had encouraged me but they did not provide a lawyer. Hiring one on my own was out of reach. Even small local races require legal and financial expertise. You must set up a campaign committee, form a business identity and open a bank account. Those are not weekend tasks. They come with fees that young candidates rarely can pay.
Later Turning Point Action helped me try for the role of precinct committee person. It was smaller, but still demanding. Unpaid and volunteer based, it required long hours. I loved the work, but I was balancing full‑time school, full‑time work and family obligations. Campaigning felt unsustainable. Something had to give.
That is not an uncommon story. Many young people flirt with the idea of running. They step back when they see the financial, legal, personal costs they will bear. The few I have met who ran without party support struggled. They lacked funding, volunteers and institutional backing. Most lost. Not for lack of ideas but because the system is stacked against them.
The Financial Wall
Running for office is expensive. Even local campaigns need signs, flyers, websites and mailers. Filing fees add up. Legal help becomes necessary to avoid disqualification. Most young candidates do not have savings. They have student loans, low paying jobs and rising rent. Asking friends for donations is hard when everyone is stretched thin.
Older candidates tap into savings or established donor networks. Parties often funnel resources to incumbents or those with connections. Young outsiders rarely get backing. Research shows young candidates lack the networks of wealth older generations enjoy, and when they do run they face fundraising hurdles that undermine their campaigns
The Time Squeeze
Campaigns devour time. Meetings, door‑knocking, forums, volunteer coordination and fundraising calls. Older candidates may accommodate that. Younger candidates are usually working, studying or caring for families. I learned that balancing a campaign with school and work meant sacrificing sleep and stability. Young people are forced to choose between building a future or running for office. For most, stability wins out.
Unpaid entry‑level political roles compound the problem. Positions like precinct committee person demand work with no pay. That is a privilege few young adults can afford. We lose energy and participation because politics offers return later, after kids are raised, careers are secure. By then the field is controlled by those who never left it.
A System Built for the Established
Election codes are dense. Deadlines unforgiving. Requirements are arbitrary. Lawyers and consultants ensure filings are valid. Without that, candidates risk being disqualified for paperwork errors.
For me, the process of bouncing between offices showed how inaccessible the system is. No guide. No training. No official willing to help. Enthusiasm gives way to frustration. Good ideas are blocked before they can get to voters.
Young people also face structural challenges at the national level. Congress has become older and more static. The average age of the 119th Congress is now nearly 59 years old. Incumbents win at staggering rates. Nearly 90 per cent of House members are re-elected, largely because they raise more money, enjoy gerrymandered districts and benefit from institutional advantages.
This gerontocratic structure discourages youthful challenge and innovation. It reinforces itself. Young people see politics as an uphill battle. They stay out.
Why It Matters
Some say young people should pay their dues. But that ignores what we lose when youth voices are absent.
Young candidates bring urgency to climate, housing, student debt, technology. Those issues matter most to their generation. When they are missing, policymaking skews toward older perspectives.
Representation fuels engagement. Studies show when young voters see peers on the ballot they participate more. Absent that representation, disengagement grows.
A Way Forward
Fixing this starts with structural change. States should simplify ballot access. Provide plain-language guides and legal resources for first-time candidates. Parties must invest in mentorship, campaign training, legal support for young contenders.
Compensation matters. Political participation demands time. A modest stipend for entry-level roles could open the field to those without financial security.
We also need a mindset shift. Inexperience is not disqualifying. Leaders like JFK and AOC began young. The problem is not youthful enthusiasm, it is systemic barriers that make trying feel impossible.
A Closing Image
I still think about running someday. I believe in public service, but I also remember walking between offices, papers in hand, no help and deadlines chasing me. That image stays with me. It is a symbol of a system that welcomes youth at rallies but shuts them out at the ballot.
Young people do not run for office not because they don’t care, but because the system makes it feel impossible. If we want a democracy that represents every generation, we must lower the barriers and widen the path. Until then youth remain guests of politics, not participants.
Angeles Ponpa is a graduate student at Northwestern Medill in the Politics, Policy, and Foreign Affairs specialization, and a Fulcrum summer intern.
Photo Credit: Canva
