Idk how I feel about that, I feel like at 16 I didn’t understand anything about it well enough to make an informed decision but I sure as hell thought I did
I’m 53 and a lot of my peers are fucking stupid but allowed to vote. On a radio station here in the UK the main argument against was that they would be influenced by tiktok…
…as though people my age aren’t influenced by fucking Facebook.
You know John Adams once said that poor people, who didn’t own property, and women shouldn’t be allowed to vote because clearly they didn’t know enough about politics and would just be advised and do whatever those with property said.
I had just turned 17 when the gay marriage plebiscite happened in Australia. I still remember the anger I felt at not being able to vote on my own right to marry.
I was more naive then than I am now, but I also was at twenty.
Many experts assert that a 16-year-old has sufficient cognitive and critical thinking capacities to make political decisions independently.xi Giving adolescents a voice and allowing their participation in matters that affect them through voting would also help fulfill a developmental need for agency and autonomy, which are core developmental tasks in adolescence.
When I was 16 I’d have voted Conservative, so clearly I wasn’t informed either. Just cause you and I weren’t switched on to political and societal issues doesn’t mean many teens aren’t.
Well, I deal professionally with people involved in politics, as well as voters. I can assure you the average adult voter is just about as poorly informed as the average 16 year old, if not more so. At least a 16 year old will have had a recent lesson on politics and civics in general.
Frankly, there should be an actual test before you should be allowed to vote. Some people are so completely misinformed about the process that they do far more harm than good.
Idk how I feel about that, I feel like at 16 I didn’t understand anything about it well enough to make an informed decision but I sure as hell thought I did
I’m 53 and a lot of my peers are fucking stupid but allowed to vote. On a radio station here in the UK the main argument against was that they would be influenced by tiktok…
…as though people my age aren’t influenced by fucking Facebook.
I mean they also have the perspective of having more of a need to be concerned with the distant future than those who are currently represented.
There are plenty of grown adults who know even less. I’m all for younger voting ages.
You know John Adams once said that poor people, who didn’t own property, and women shouldn’t be allowed to vote because clearly they didn’t know enough about politics and would just be advised and do whatever those with property said.
I had just turned 17 when the gay marriage plebiscite happened in Australia. I still remember the anger I felt at not being able to vote on my own right to marry.
I was more naive then than I am now, but I also was at twenty.
LOWERING THE VOTING AGE: UNICEF Canada Policy Brief
Well that applies to most voters
When I was 16 I’d have voted Conservative, so clearly I wasn’t informed either. Just cause you and I weren’t switched on to political and societal issues doesn’t mean many teens aren’t.
Well, I deal professionally with people involved in politics, as well as voters. I can assure you the average adult voter is just about as poorly informed as the average 16 year old, if not more so. At least a 16 year old will have had a recent lesson on politics and civics in general.
Frankly, there should be an actual test before you should be allowed to vote. Some people are so completely misinformed about the process that they do far more harm than good.
Yeah, I think keeping it at the legal adulthood makes sense.