A short film from 2012 by Errol Morris for the New York Times Op-Docs series. Morris speaks with young Americans about the merits of voting and why some resist, from apathy to awkward family dinners.

It's interesting to look back on this one now after a tumultuous political year culminating in Alabama "going blue" due to unusually high turnout. Could the apathy trend be reversing?

"Before asking why they will vote, I asked why most young people won’t. They told me that many of the issues they care about — climate change, civil rights, the war on drugs, immigration, prison reform — are not discussed by Democrats or Republicans. That there is such a gulf between what candidates say they will do, and what they do, that it’s impossible to trust anyone. That apathy is actually supported by the evidence.

Voting is a leap of faith. Calling it a civic duty is not enough. Either you believe that the system is both changeable and worth changing, or you don’t — and most new voters are not convinced."