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nselegzi
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Posted: Fri Apr 7th, 2006 11:41 pm |
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| So, this week's question is strikes close to home: should YOUR country lower its minimum voting age? In an age of the internet and widespread television, youth can be much more informed about the world than ever before - yet the minimum voting age in most countries is still 18. Should this be lowered? What are the rules in your country? What do YOU think?
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Locke
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Posted: Mon Apr 10th, 2006 08:18 pm |
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| 18 is the age a lot of kids gain responsibilities and certain rights such as driving. If we lower an age here and higher an age there they won't pay attention anymore because their government is unsure.
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Spela
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Posted: Mon Apr 10th, 2006 08:31 pm |
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It is expected that we act responsible, that we are aware of what is happening in our country even if we're only 15 or 16, on the other hand teenagers under 18 don't have any political power. If for example, the government is proposing a reform, that wants to introduce fees for universities then kids who are still in high school,
will be struck by this reform every single year of their study and therefore they should be given a vote on the referendum, if there is one, of course. On the other hand I wouldn't say it is so important for 16y olds to vote on presidental elections etc.
In my country the minimum voting age is 18 as in many other countries as well. But yes, I think the voting age should be lowered to let's say 16y. It would be a nice iniciative for kids to become more interested in politics and happenings in their own country, since now they would have the power of changing something through voting.
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ronnal
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Posted: Wed Apr 12th, 2006 10:58 pm |
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| I am concerned that the voting age will become connected to citizenship responsibilities -- like serving in the military. Since the problem of child soldiers looms over us, when we begin to discuss new "rights" for adolescents -- then do those rights emcompass some new expected or legitimized responsibility of young people? Ronna
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spenner
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Posted: Thu Apr 13th, 2006 02:54 am |
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Being the first to endorse this proposal, I'd like to elaborate on why I am of the opinion that it should be lowered to 15 in my country. First of all, teenagers have the same access to information that their parents do, if not more with the proliferation of internet use. Also, most teens who would excersize this right would know enough about the process to not simply endorse whomever their parents did, but to form their own opinion. It would seem to me that the reason for a voting age is knowledge and information awareness. It is also true that many people 15-18 know more about the political process than their parents do and that simply their age should not preclude them from voting. If you look at other age-restricted activities like, gambling, smoking, or driving; the reason for these restrictions is to prevent teens from harming themselves or others. Since that risk is almost non-existent in voting, I feel that the same criteria simply do not apply. Since I see no reason to preclude teens from voting, I would agree with this proposal.
JMO
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andykrasny
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Posted: Fri Apr 14th, 2006 09:10 pm |
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I don't think the voting age should be lowered in general. I would, on the other hand, permit concerned kids to vote in i.e. Board of Education elections, or in some sort of committees within the school.
My most important argument is that of the young people don't vote these days. I know about the Czech Republic that usually around one half of permited voters actually vote, from which I'd say important majority play senior citizens and people who generaly have a lot of time. Many young Czechs don't consider politics as an important thing, also because of the presentation in politics in the media (corruption within ministeries, spending money inefficiently..).
I'd rather lower driving age in my country (it's 18 now) or cancel the age limit for starting a company (you have to be 18 as well) than lower the voting age. Again for me it's simple - when you decide you want to drive to some other place, you get in a car, you get there, you have an immidiate result. With company it's the same. But in voting, it seems that if you give your one vote to a party, there must be hundreds of thousands other people who would do the same - the result is uncler.
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whatever_clare
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Posted: Tue Apr 18th, 2006 12:23 pm |
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| I think that 21 is the right age for voting. Here, 21 is the age where you are considered an ADULT, hence, able to make the right decisions.
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juratem
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Posted: Tue Apr 18th, 2006 01:10 pm |
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Since high school students (and debaters) often study politics and current events, there is a strong possibilty that people of high school age are just as informed or even more informed than many older people. In some countries, voter turnout is quite low, because some may believe that their vote will not make a difference, while others may believe that all politicians do not make a difference. It is possible that lower the voter age (to say fifteen or sixteen) may help increase a lifelong interest in the way one's own government runs things. There may be some benefits to lowering the voter age: such as greater youth involvement in politics, a practical connection to high school courses and debate clubs, as well as a chance for positive change.
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ronnal
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Posted: Wed Apr 19th, 2006 02:25 am |
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| Points well taken, Jurate. Since an attitude toward voting is different than having the knowledge about the candidates and issues, the younger generation may have new perspectives about the voting process which are not to be ignored in the present or for the long range health of a participatory government. Educational opportunities like debate and the availability of information on the internet most definitely will bring a new kind of voter to the polls. This topic is fun to explore as we being to search for appropriate criteria for selecting a voting citizen and perhaps how various circumstances may play into that criteria.
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vengeancea7x
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Posted: Thu Apr 27th, 2006 02:48 am |
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| I think that the voting age should be lowered. There are some kids around these days that are more inteligent then parents. I think that the age should be lowered because we are part of this community to. They should lower it because we have to live in this world and go by what the president says to. So why cant we have a say in who we want to take over our country? When people vote for a president they also affect us just as much as it does the adults.
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Call Me Cocky
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Posted: Fri Apr 28th, 2006 03:44 am |
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| The age of 18 is perfect! At this age people are adults. So therefore these "kids" are responsible for themselves.
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ronnal
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Posted: Sun Apr 30th, 2006 03:24 am |
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| I have become so interested in this talk and some of your ideas, I decided to offer it to students in my debate class. My students are university age 18 years and above. They will debate tomorrow for this their assignment that the voting age in the U.S. should be lowered to 16 years of age. I am looking forward to hearing some of their reasons and they will also be trying the Karl Popper format which is new to them. As I have been thinking about this topic, it seems that perhaps the age at which young people graduate/finish their "high school"/secondary school/gymnasium ? (as I am not certain what it is called in different countries) high make a difference in how adulthood and responsibility is viewed within a culture/country? I guess I am wondering to what degree educational systems might contribute to our discussion. Later, Ronna
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iamgoi
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Posted: Thu May 4th, 2006 06:52 am |
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i think its not right to use 18 as barometer to determine adulthood.
the issue on voting in most countries, is not an issue if your the right person to vote, or wether your responsible or not.
its an issue of voter turn-out.
in fact we cant determine responsible voting, we cant gauge it.
elections become successful not because the right person was elected, but because there was a large response from the populace.
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viorelia
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Posted: Fri May 5th, 2006 03:34 pm |
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| In my opinion, in a poor post-Soviet country like mine, where the majority of the population are so apathetic and indifferent as regards their future, the voting age should be lowered, and maybe become mandatory. This would perhaps increase the number of voters and their civic activity might rise because young people will learn citizenship from an early age (let's assume that the voting age should be lowered to 16). At 16 young people go to high schools, they aspire to a better life not only for themselves, but for their countrymen as well. In my country most of the 18-year-olds do not participate in elections on any level, be it local or national. In the capital of my country the mayor hasn't been elected yet, although a lot of public money was spent on this. A lot of people simply didn't show up at the polls.
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cassyyy
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Posted: Wed May 17th, 2006 12:55 pm |
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Yes, Australia should lower its voting age because many young people, including myself, feel the need to play an active role of citizenship by having a say in political decisions. Some may argue that people under 18 do not have enough reasons or knowledge to vote, but how about those adults who don't really care and just vote or anyong for teh sake of voting and avoiding a fine.
In my eyes age doesn't matter, its the valid reasons behind the vote that matters. In fact, not only should people under 18 be able to vote, all voters should also note down a valid reason for their voting decisions. This will ensure that voters are voting for valid reasons, not just for the sake of voting.
Anyway back to the point, youth are the future so we should have the right to make political decisions for our future as we will be the ones living under these decisions.
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caa_09
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Posted: Wed May 17th, 2006 01:39 pm |
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| ok, i agree to each previous points, but think of it its not enough that they already know what is happening in their government or what could happened to their government... having the voting age of 18 is consistently the right age... 1st point is that it is proven in the status qou that every nation having the vote limit age of 18 are not having any problem. so whats the point of adjusting it, 2nd point is maturity of the voter comes first when voting, it's not just enough to vote the voter must be ready to face the consequences the vote he/she had made. and i think the age of 18 is already the starting point for a person to be ready to face the real world. 3rd adjusting the voters age limit to 16 will create inconsistency to each vote they had made... how sure are they that thee person they voted are right for the position? can a 16 year old person be responsible enough to vote??? perhaps some but not all.
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chic_8
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Posted: Thu May 18th, 2006 11:32 am |
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The voting age should not be lowered it should stay at 18. coze it is the age you should start voting. it shouldn't be lowered becaused people younger don't know what is really going on to even vote. they are not responsible enough. if it was lowered people would probaly vote what there friends were voting they wouldn't actually take what there doing into account. also if it was lowered the power would go to the youngsters heads. and not everyone wants to vote it should be an option.
in there other hand people younger then 18 should also vote in votes like board of Education. people younger should aleast have some power over there future. in some ways this voting thing is overated. when people over 18 vote there basically diciding our future so we should have a say.
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AnnA
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Posted: Thu May 18th, 2006 11:31 pm |
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..the main problem I have with certain posts is the automatic dismissal of people under the age of 18 as being immature and therefore in no place to vote and subsequently decide the future...
I think that is an uneccesarry degredation of youth. A lot of young people are very aware of what is goin on around them, because they are still filled with the optimistical enthusiam that they have the power ( albeit a small amount) to TRY and bring about change where necesarry.
What is so special about the number 18 anyway ?Do we wake up on our 18th birthday and become suddenly informed, responsible, reasonable and mature?..
Wouldn't it also be reasonable to assume that if this right were to be given to younger adults too, that they would take greater measures to inform themselves about the political parties and the candidates?
Another point is the alleged peer pressure- isn't everyone subject to some kind of influence? Family, friends, co-workers... and anyway it's not as if they get to see your ballot paper ?!
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userha2375
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Posted: Mon May 22nd, 2006 07:47 pm |
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Unfortunately, the responsibility of a person cannot be based on the age they are. If a person believes that he or she is responsible enough, or carries the interest enough to register to vote at the age of 18, what's the difference if the age is lowered to 16? If the applicant feels responsible enough to acknowledge what's going on within their country and around the world, and have the opinion on who they want to see govern their nation, they should have the opportunity, and will set themselves apart from the people that don't feel it is their concern, and register to vote. This also stands in my country (USA) that half of the population that can vote at a younger age (18) doesn't, maybe from the fact that they don't register in time, or the fact that they aren't interested in politics. Speaking as an "adolescent" I am far more informed throughout politics and what goes on in our country than my parents- and most adults around me. Why? Because since I was in the 9th grade, as soon as I enrolled in high school, I have been doing current events every school day. This includes what goes on around us, the opinions of people around us, and gives us the opportunity to have opinions of our own. It allows me to have the option of taking an interest in politics. And being as I am not 18 until November, I was not able to vote in any city elections that just took place in our community. I do have an opinion and I want to express it through my vote. I believe that everyone has the right to express what they think. If we start paying taxes at the age of 16 when we get a job (this isn't benefiting us until we are 18). If we are allowed to drive at the age of 16, this shows some kind of responsibility, doesn't it? If we have the freedom of speech, what is our government saying by setting "teenagers"-who have opinions as much as "adults" apart from expressing them?
Thanks!
Kristi
God bless!!!!!
Last edited on Mon May 22nd, 2006 07:57 pm by userha2375
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Prasenjit
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Posted: Mon Jun 5th, 2006 03:09 pm |
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I grew up thinking to give my first vote when i reach 18!..yep those were some agonising years..and finally I did vote.. i felt like for the first time I had something to say to the country..though we get to know all the various issues that concern a country,but at that moment I felt if I had been a citizen of this country shouldn't I also had a say when we were getting accustomed to the various constitutional rights?
As a golden saying goes.."The future of the country lies on the young shoulders ".....
People might also speculate that lowering the voting age would actually show the instability of the country..perhaps if they ought to come out of their pesimistic attitude and be a bit more optimistic..
From personal front I agree to the fact that voting should not be restricted to people who are 18 and above....
Though not mentioning that it should be dropped significantly but a drop in 2 years would actually make sure the pupils who are about to embrace their life in their own standards do get responsible as they do with their personal and professional lifes....because this is their country...and one should know what is going on.. and be an active participant.
Thank you.
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