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Why it's time to lower the voting age

  • Maia
  • Jul 27, 2020
  • 3 min read

In 2013, over half of Canadian youth aged 15-19 indicated that they were at least somewhat interested in politics. In recent years, we've seen an increase in youth activists; huge amounts of teens have involved themselves in activism groups, organized/participated in strikes, addressed politicians, and more. However, despite the impressive platform that teens are building themselves, most still cannot take one of the most powerful political actions there is: voting.

Lowering the voting age to 16 is quite a controversial concept. So let's look through some reasons why it makes sense.


reason #1: youth turnout

In Takoma Park, Maryland, lowering the voting age turned out to be a great idea. They lowered their voting age to 16 due to a low turnout rate, and, although the turnout rate of voters 18 and up was still very low - 8.5 percent - the turnout rate of youth was significantly higher: 17 percent!

If you suspect that that example is merely a coincidence, you'll be happy to know that it's not the only occurrence of this phenomenon. In the Norwegian local elections of 2011, 20 municipalities (and one self-governed area) were chosen to allow 16/17-year-olds to vote. 58 percent of these new 16 and 17-year-old voters turned up to vote. That's a huge increase from the participation rate among normal first-time voters (which is 46 percent)!


reason #2: more youth voters means more voters now and later

Voting has been proven to be a habitual practice, and lowering the voting age would likely establish voting as a lifelong habit. Additionally, a "trickle up" effect has been found; this means that when young people vote, their parents are often more inclined to do the same.


reason #3: it'll help the youth, too

The previous points have hopefully proved that lowering the voting age will help the world as a whole. But many issues that affect who you vote for (the climate crisis, poverty, and, of course, education) affect youth disproportionally. Forcing youth into other methods of political change on issues they care about when the option of voting is right there is a pointless endeavour.


reason #4: the "they're not smart enough!" argument doesn't hold up

Adults, regardless of their intelligence, are almost all allowed to vote. And that makes sense; as this article says, "democracy isn't an IQ test".

Additionally, Canadian residents with mental disabilities aren't restricted from voting (which is good, of course). This is because what matters is voters' opinions, not how others judge their intelligence.

Lastly, many overestimate how politically informed the population is as a whole. In truth, just because citizens have passed into adulthood doesn't mean they have a ton of civic knowledge; a 2017 study found that only about a quarter of Americans (26 percent) can name all three branches of government. 33 percent couldn't name any branch of government.


reason #5: these changes are always difficult to make

There was a time when voting was only available to white men over the age of 21, a time when the very idea to change that seemed absurd. Times have changed since then, but we're still not quite there; times need to change just a bit more.


how can you help?

Hopefully after reading this article you're convinced that the voting age should be lowered to 16. But what should you do now? Try these actions:


sources

  • “Americans Are Poorly Informed About Basic Constitutional Provisions.” Annenberg Public Policy Center, The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, 12 Sept. 2017, www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-are-poorly-informed-about-basic-constitutional-provisions/. Accessed 24 July 2020.

  • Dahlgaard, Jens Olav. “The Surprising Consequence of Lowering the Voting Age.” The Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/02/28/the-surprising-consequence-of-lowering-the-voting-age/. Accessed 24 July 2020.

  • Hard, Patricia. “16- and 17-Year-Olds Vote for First Time in Takoma Park.” Promote Our Vote, 6 Nov. 2013, www.promoteourvote.com/blog/16-and-17-year-olds-vote-for-first-time-in-takoma-park. Accessed 24 July 2020.

  • Ødegård, Guro, et al. Why Did They Vote? Voter Turnout and the Mobilization of 16-Years-Olds in the Norwegian Local Election of 2011. Sept. 2014.

  • “The Evolution of the Federal Franchise.” Elections Canada, Dec. 2014, www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=bkg&document=ec90785&lang=e. Accessed 24 July 2020.

  • Turcotte, Martin. “Political Participation and Civic Engagement of Youth.” Statistics Canada, 2011, www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2015001/article/14232-eng.htm#a3. Accessed 24 July 2020.

image source

  • Crockett, Zachary. “The Case for Allowing 16-Year-Olds to Vote.” Vox, Vox Media, 7 Nov. 2016, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/13347080/voting-age-election-16. Accessed 26 July 2020.

 
 
 

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