Legal Voting Age

[Regulus]

[quote="DGFone"]Most 16 year olds don't know how to manage money well enough to survive on their own.[/quote]

And neither do most adults. That's why more than half of America lives paycheck to paycheck, and there's so many people stuck with debts that they can't pay off.

This is why I support diplomademocracy. Give everybody the opportunity to have a free education, but make education a requirement for voting.

[Si-Amber]

I didn't do great at school and I dropped out of college. Quite interesting that some people think that even as a taxpayer, I shouldn't have the right to vote, to influence who gets to spend my taxes, because I might be too "ignorant". Just because someone doesn't have a degree, doesn't mean they don't have an understanding of what goes on in their country. You don't have to be academic to be intelligent. I have friends with degrees who don't even watch the news. That's a pretty elitist view you guys have.

As for 16 year olds getting the vote, I say yes. Most teens in this country wouldn't bother to vote anyway, so it would mostly be the few who have an interest in politics / the country. So yeah, let them have their say.

[SlayerOfLight]

[quote="Si Targaryen"]I didn't do great at school and I dropped out of college. Quite interesting that some people think that even as a taxpayer, I shouldn't have the right to vote, to influence who gets to spend my taxes, because I might be too "ignorant". Just because someone doesn't have a degree, doesn't mean they don't have an understanding of what goes on in their country. You don't have to be academic to be intelligent. I have friends with degrees who don't even watch the news. That's a pretty elitist view you guys have.

As for 16 year olds getting the vote, I say yes. Most teens in this country wouldn't bother to vote anyway, so it would mostly be the few who have an interest in politics / the country. So yeah, let them have their say.[/quote]


I kinda have to agree there. While I prefer everyone to be at least 18 to 20 years old to be given the right to vote, judging people by their education is closely the same like judging people by their looks. If someone doesn't have a high education that doesn't mean he or she is an idiot who knows nothing about politics... Besides, most teenagers today don't even care about politics and are too busy with their cellphones/ipods or whatever. Or they are just playing GTA5 while not giving a fudge about anything else.

[Tsuki]

^ I agree with what Si says. Just because someone doesn't have a degree or didn't go to University doesn't make them less intelligent. I have a degree and a Masters but I can't get a job. Does that mean I'm unitelligent too? I don't watch the news either so am I still unitelligent? Some of the views here have made me raise an eyebrow.Everyone should have a say on what goes on in their country regardless of education, looks, health and beliefs.

[DGFone]

Does anyone here think that the only reason why Britain is "considering" this is that a political party that knows that teens like it wants to gain power over the others, and not necessarily because anyone thinks it's actually a good idea?

[Si-Amber]

^ Political apathy is a big problem here in the UK. There are probably as many 16 year old's who are interested in politics as there are 26 year old's. Most of my friends moan about politicians and the government, but few of them bother to vote. If a 16 year old does care and wants to vote, let them. We need as many voters as we can get.

Also at A-Level stage (16-18) there are more people in the UK studying Politics than at any other age, so it's quite ironic that they don't have the vote.

[SlayerOfLight]

[quote="DGFone"]Does anyone here think that the only reason why Britain is "considering" this is that a political party that knows that teens like it wants to gain power over the others, and not necessarily because anyone thinks it's actually a good idea?[/quote]

That's why voting should be for adults only. But no diplomademocracy for the sake of every intelligent adult whitout a high education.

[Woeler]

That is why Regulus and I said ''when the government pays for it''. If you get the chance to do higher education, but you just don't take it then you have given up your right to vote.

Today, in democracies leaders are chosen with an election in which everyone older than 18 can vote. Since the jobs in politics are extremely important this is a weird system. No other 'social group' in human society organizes this way. Would you hire an electrician to do you plumbing? No. But why should we 'hire' the uneducated to do our politics?

If a state pays for your education, but you don't take it, I see no problem in taking away the right to vote.

[quote="Si Targaryen"]^ Political apathy is a big problem here in the UK. There are probably as many 16 year old's who are interested in politics as there are 26 year old's. Most of my friends moan about politicians and the government, but few of them bother to vote. If a 16 year old does care and wants to vote, let them. We need as many voters as we can get.

Also at A-Level stage (16-18) there are more people in the UK studying Politics than at any other age, so it's quite ironic that they don't have the vote.[/quote]

I really hope that this law will be implemented in the UK, because then it will show that I am right. Mark my words, the only party that will profit from this will be the UKIP.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

[quote="DGFone"]Does anyone here think that the only reason why Britain is "considering" this is that a political party that knows that teens like it wants to gain power over the others, and not necessarily because anyone thinks it's actually a good idea?[/quote]

To be fair, the Liberal Democrats are supporting this idea and they need all the help they can get. I did find this website: http://debatewise.org/debates/418-the-v ... elections/

[Si-Amber]

[quote="Woeler"]
Today, in democracies leaders are chosen with an election in which everyone older than 18 can vote. Since the jobs in politics are extremely important this is a weird system. No other 'social group' in human society organizes this way. Would you hire an electrician to do you plumbing? No. But why should we 'hire' the uneducated to do our politics?
[/quote]

In that case, shouldn't only people with a degree in Politics get to vote? After all, why is someone with a degree in Arts. Literature or even Medicine going to have knowledge about politics?

I'd probably be classed as "uneducated", yet I own a book on UK Politics, which I've read. That's more than most of my "educated" friends have. Not all learning is done in the classroom.