Legal Voting Age

[KentuckyWildcat]

I don't think having a formal education in politics is very relevant to this discussion. Most adults don't even have that, so unless you're advocating for the abolition of representative government altogether, that isn't the real issue with voting age laws.

My problem with lowering the age is that 16 year-olds are still in the process of growing up. They're still in the process of figuring out their own identities and beliefs. They have raging hormones and often ride an emotional roller coaster. No offense intended to anybody reading this who is that age because I was there once too, but I simply don't think that most 16-year olds are mature enough to be given a responsibility like voting. For that matter I could say something similar about a good number of 18-year olds. It's not likely that the 26th Amendment will be repealed, but I actually wouldn't mind reverting back to making 21 the minimum age in America.

[DGFone]

Not an adult? You can't vote.

I'm sorry, but there is no other way to put it: I am not willing to trust even myself to vote on local, let alone national matters before turning legal. You need to give people more time to mature and not be as effected by flowery words and pretty phrases, which admit it, is what most 16 year olds will vote for.

After all, phrase it this way: Will you trust a nation to be run by a bunch of kids?

[UncoordinatedPisces]

I was talking about the UK in particular in my first post but ah well ^^;;

Granted, not a lot of teenagers know how politics work, heck, even I don't know how politics work really. I just know enough to say that I'm relatively interested in it. Perhaps it should just stay at 18. Being raised to 21 is a bit much I think. The whole "higher education" thing I've already expressed my opinion on anyway.

[KingCub]

After all, phrase it this way: Will you trust a nation to be run by a bunch of kids?

Yes, because kids are the future of this nation, so they should have a say in how its run. The general thought with most people on this topic, is that all 16 year olds are bumbling numptys with raging hormones that that no idea what they are talking about. Im not that some people are not like this, but for the most part, this is not true.

Oh, there are. I'd say one in a thousand? I'm not surprised. To be honest most people are political idiots, and politicians like political idiots because they can be used, or actually misused. By adding the 17-yearold group to the votinggroup, you'll add a million idiots and a thousand politically rational people. The only people who profit from this are populists. Their weapon is the ignorance of their voters, and overall, youth is ignorant enough to fall for this.

What does the average 17-yearold know about the VAT?
What does the average 17-yearold know about NAFTA or the EU or ASEAN?
What does the average 17-yearold know about lawmaking?
What does the average 17-yearold know about theorists like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates?
What does the average 17-yearold know about international relationships?
What does the average 17-yearold know about war?
What does the average 17-yearold know about community, taxes, intervention, international law, the economy, the debt?
The answer is 'nothing', because it does not concern most of them.

And as far as I know, as long as one lives in a country one pays taxes. There are no 'none taxpayers' besides illegal people, but illegal people have no right to vote. Actually they have no rights at all.

Because many young people don't know [censored] about politics. Now as an 18-yearold I might not say that, but I study politics at a university, which I think gives me a free-pas on this one.

Politics is not something everyone should be fiddling around with.

I don't need to know every bit of a car to know how to drive. Its the same thing here. Most adults don't have the education that you say is needed to vote.

The one thing that you forget to ask yourself is this- If a teenager has absolutely no knowledge about anything political, why would they even take the time to vote in the first place? It already happens with quite a lot of the legal population anyway.

I go back to a debate a long time ago I had with some people similar to this. I honestly think that there should be some-sort of 'test' that needs to be written and passed before you are a legal voter. This can weed out the non-knowing teenagers, whilst giving the people who know about what is going to, be able to vote.

[DGFone]

After all, phrase it this way: Will you trust a nation to be run by a bunch of kids?

Yes, because kids are the future of this nation, so they should have a say in how its run.

You just said it: they are the future. Let them run the nation...

...When they have grown up, matured, and understood life a lot more. In other words, let them run the nation when it's their turn.

After all, as Woeler took straight out of rebellious American history: "No taxation without representation", and then reverse that.

Most 16 year olds don't know how to manage money well enough to survive on their own. Us their allowance for things life GPUs, yes. But do they pay for food? Housing? Health care (through taxation or directly)? And now you're asking them to dictate how much others are required to pay in taxes?

Communism is great as long as you don't run out of other people's money.

If teens get the right to vote, this is exactly what will happen.

---

On the subject of dumb adults voting for who-knows-what:

My physics teacher (who is almost anti-me in terms of politics, BTW), like to say that there should be this simple requirement: Want to vote? Pass a very simple test that shows that you know even a bit of "common" knowledge about the nation which you are voting in. No fees attached (so no poll tax). Flunk the test? Can't vote. But if you flunk the test, it might be better if you don't vote anyways.

[Regulus]

Most 16 year olds don't know how to manage money well enough to survive on their own.

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]

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.

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?