Perception of Young People from Tacna Regarding the Importance of Informed Voting

Abstract

This study analyzes university students’ perception of informed voting. The research arises from concerns about low institutional trust and the difficulties young voters face in accessing reliable political information. The main objective was to describe and analyze how students understand and value informed voting. A quantitative, descriptive, and associative approach was used through a structured questionnaire administered to participants from different academic programs. The results show that most students demonstrate a medium level of informed voting, reflecting general knowledge of the electoral process but limitations in critical analysis and source verification. Although students express a favorable perception of democracy, this attitude coexists with moderate distrust toward public institutions. Inferential analysis indicates no significant relationship between informed voting and demographic variables such as gender or age; however, a significant association was found with the condition of studying and working. In conclusion, students acknowledge the importance of being informed before voting, though there remains a need to strengthen media literacy, critical-thinking skills, and access to reliable political information to improve the quality of electoral decision-making.