Lower the Voting Age?

[Humph Warden Bennett]

I know that we have done this before, but this time it is being debated in Parliament:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/voting-age-lower-16-sixteen-mp-debate-commons-change-law-a8035191.html

[floo]

I think it should stay at 18 when one is considered an adult.

[Nearly Sane]

I think it should stay at 18 when one is considered an adult.

circular argument.

[Sebastian Toe]

I think it should stay at 18 when one is considered an adult.

No taxation without representation!

[Humph Warden Bennett]

No taxation without representation!

I think that way too.

[floo]

Are many 16 year olds capable of making a sensible decision about politics, when their hormones are raging? It is hard enough at 18, imo.

[Nearly Sane]

Are many 16 year olds capable of making a sensible decision about politics, when their hormones are raging? It is hard enough at 18, imo.

  I find shockingly hard at the age of 192!!! We allow 16 year olds to join the army, marry, fuck, and work. Voting seems the least the those.

[Anchorman]

I think it should stay at 18 when one is considered an adult.

In more civilised areas - Scot;and, for example, we think otherwise.
I take it you now think that 16-18 year olds should not pay taxes, join the forces, etc, as well?

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Are many 16 year olds capable of making a sensible decision about politics, when their hormones are raging? It is hard enough at 18, imo.

There should be an upper age for voting.

[floo]

There should be an upper age for voting.

Like 192.

[Humph Warden Bennett]

  I find shockingly hard at the age of 192!!! We allow 16 year olds to join the army, marry, fuck, and work. Voting seems the least the those.

If you are 192 then you are old enough to remember the last time that the Tories lost where I live!

[Walter]

There should be an upper age for voting.

there should be an upper age limit FULL STOP !
63and3/4 is ideal 😱

[Harrowby Hall]

My main concern is that in recent times enfranchised young people have tended to show a considerable reluctance to exercise their vote.

My assumption is that they perceive the practice of politics ignores their particular interests and see no point in taking part in any "democratic" process. Jeremy Corbyn's successful seizure of the leadership of the Labour Party appears to be partially the result in tapping into this perception.

I think that Floo's categorisation of 16 and 17 year-olds as being distracted by "raging hormones" is not really accurate. The worst excesses of puberty are over by this age, and most are engaged in deciding what kind of adult life they want - even if it only at the level of what form tertiary education should take. And the consequence of large scale debt arising from simply continuing their education was a decision they had had no say in.

[floo]

If the voting age was lowered to 16, I wonder how many would actually bother to vote? Apparently it is hard to get the under 40s to vote in any great numbers, so I have heard.

[Anchorman]

If the voting age was lowered to 16, I wonder how many would actually bother to vote? Apparently it is hard to get the under 40s to vote in any great numbers, so I have heard.

The stats show that substantial numbers of 16-18 year olds voted in the 2014 referendum and in last years Scottish local government elections.

[Harrowby Hall]

If the voting age was lowered to 16, I wonder how many would actually bother to vote? Apparently it is hard to get the under 40s to vote in any great numbers, so I have heard.

That's what I'm trying to say in my latest post. It is some time since I have talked with young people about it, but a frequent comment was of the "what good would my vote be?" nature. Perhaps it's a built-in problem of the "first past the post" two-party system.

But there are political subjects which are of concern to young people. Why shouldn't they have a say in their consideration?

[Sebastian Toe]

If the voting age was lowered to 16, I wonder how many would actually bother to vote? Apparently it is hard to get the under 40s to vote in any great numbers, so I have heard.

Is that a reason to not allow them to vote?

[floo]

Is that a reason to not allow them to vote?

How low should the voting age go do you think?

[Sebastian Toe]

How low should the voting age go do you think?

16 is fine. See replies #3 and #7.

[floo]

I would prefer it to stay at 18, so we will have to agree to differ.

[jeremyp]

I think we should abolish the voting age but make people do an exam to prove they are competent to vote. Recent ballots have shown quite a lot of us have no clue.

[Shaker]

I think we should abolish the voting age but make people do an exam to prove they are competent to vote. Recent ballots have shown quite a lot of us have no clue.

Which sounds an awful lot like aristocracy rather than democracy (demos, the people).

[Rhiannon]

Which sounds an awful lot like aristocracy rather than democracy (demos, the people).

I’d have thought it a meritocracy myself.

[Shaker]

I’d have thought it a meritocracy myself.

If you know your Greek, technically it's pretty well the same thing.

Either way, it's not democracy. The idea that the great unwashed hordes can't be trusted with the vote because they're not intelligent like as what I are and might vote for things that I don't like isn't an -ocracy but a particularly nasty -ism.

[Rhiannon]

The idea of taking exams in order to play a part in the running of society is peculiar to meritocracy.

The problem isn’t so much that voters can’t be trusted with their vote, but that politicians and leaders can’t be trusted not to lie.