Should the voting age be lowered?

Question

Some people are arguing it should be lowered to 16.

In my opinion if you are working and eligble to pay tax then you should be allowed a vote at 16, if not then you need to wait!

What do you think?

Raised to 23? I am 23, a mother, wife and homeowner. I am also a worker and a tax payer - surely I'm allowed a say?

Answer 1

I'd argue for the voting age to be raised.

I don't see many 18 year olds that can seem to make informed decisions any more. Too many years of American Idol and Survivor have twisted their idea of "voting".

Answer 2

Yes if you're old enough to go to war, pay tax etc I see no reason why the voting age should not be lowered.

Many people don't know what they're voting for anyway whatever age they are. You should give everyone the vote over the age of 16 as long as they are not serving time in one of HMPs.

It's all very well to say that most 16 year olds don't understand life and politics, but I think most people don't understand these things at any age and often are too stupid to try to think about which MP would serve them best. Even so we can't discriminate on age or intelligence.

Answer 3

Depends what vote you mean.

Democracy is the belief in freedom and equality between people, and the system of government based on this belief.

Non-tax payers can vote, the un-employed can vote. Does this mean a working and tax paying child of ten should get a vote? Hey I pay more tax than you, maybe I should get more votes? No.

Once a national reaches adulthood they are deemed able to make mature judgements and take legal responsibility for those judgements. At what age this occurs in individuals is exceedingly variable, but 18 seems like a reasonable minimum to me.

Answer 4

properly i'm no longer truly advantageous that that is going to be decreased i'm 16 and extremely in touch and recommended about politics although i have self belief there are purely some human beings of my age that would take the right to vote heavily and make an recommended determination for this reason as a lot as i'd like to attend to to vote this election i wager that is over all more suitable to have the balloting age stay at 18

Answer 5

I am hoping to not be the odd ball out here and say 16 is a bit young. I would say 18, that is when you are at least (hopefully) a bit more informed about things that are going on in society. Not saying that there arent socially responsible 16 year olds, but at age 16 you have much different things to worry about.

I think everyone should be given the chance to vote- once they are old enough. At age 16 you cant smoke, you cant drink, you cant even go out. I say push it out for a few more years, then do it. Nothing wrong with that.

Answer 6

In the UK the age to vote should be raised not lowered. At the age of 16 (or even 21) most people don't have the maturity to fully understand the implication of putting a cross on a ballot paper. Of course politicians love this, their sound bites, weaselly words and apparent rebelliousness is an immense attraction to the immature and uneducated mind. Merely to keep themselves in power, I suspect that the UK "parties" con/lab/lib will lower the age for voting to about 12.

Answer 7

Please no. Though you work you don't pay full taxes, unless you have graduated high school and are not attending a higher education so that puts a minor halt on this reasoning. Even despite that i think way too many 18 year olds are overly influenced by parents, peers and poor choices of media. If it was measurable i don't think people should be permitted to vote until they can make an educated and informed decision from their own perceptions and life experiences. A 16 year old does not have this capability because they, generally speaking, do not have enough life experiences or capacity to make and interpret knowledge from proper media sources.

Answer 8

Agree with Zot, obviously everyone knows the simple process and proceedure of how to vote, but once in the voting booth do they make an informed decision? There's a lot to consider and you can't make rash decisions based on whether or not you like the person again based upon what attire or point of view regarding a skewed issue or just one issue they hold, rather then their broad manifesto. The right to vote carries with it a heavy responsibility, sorry to make anyone yawn, but let's not change anything..

Answer 9

Would people of that age vote it seems nowadays that young people are not
interested in politics, that is why at several of the bye elections not to
mention general elections there is a very poor turnout. It all seems too
much trouble, for a lot of people who have
got the vote already, perhaps if there was mass turnouts at these elections
you might get the party that you voted for and not the opposition.

Answer 10

No, voting age should not be lowered. Most teenagers dont have enough of a grip on real life besides school and their jobs to vote. Actually there should be restrictions in my opinion. If you havent graduated highschool or have the IQ of a chimp then you shouldnt be allowed to vote at all. See what happens when only the ignorant vote...we get George Bush as a president!

Answer 11

The average eighteen year old appears to have the IQ of a shredded wheat. According to recent scientific research the reason many of them are so thick is because their brains are not fully developed until well into their twenties. This means most teenagers are suffering from a serious brain deficiency. better to allow trained chimps to vote.