The Student Room Group

Want to campaign for the 16 year old vote?

== We believe 16 and 17 year olds deserve to be heard in elections. If you agree and would like to get involved in researching our approach and then campaigning for change, please get in touch==

Having worked at The Student Room for 10 years, and as a College Governor at Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College, I've been overwhelmed by the number of highly engaged young students having really well informed debates on key political issues. This is sometimes more than can be said for much of the adult population.

As you turn 16 and 17 you gain the rights to get married, have children, join the army, drive, fly planes, as well as the to go to adult prison. As young people, you will also have to live with the consequences of political decisions for longer than any of the rest of us. To me it feels like a relic from the past that your voice is excluded from important political decisions. You have a right for your opinions to be listened to at the highest levels, and on the most important issues.

During the EU referendum our polls showed that 82% of 16 and 17 year olds wanted to Remain, so clearly your views were not well represented by the general voting population. Interestingly though, 16 and 17 year olds polled similarly to 18-24 year olds - 75% of whom voted Remain (YouGov after the vote), so broadly in line with your closest peers.

Scotland lowered the voting age to 16 in 2014 for the independence vote, and are now extending it for all elections. With the current sweeping political change in the UK we feel that the time is right to follow their lead, and to push to get the UK parliament to adopt this progressive position.

So with that in mind, we would like to identify driven members of the TSR community who would like to get involved in researching, refining our position, and campaigning for this change, with the support of TSR to assist with political contacts, public relations and lobbying. We will consider whether to go this alone, or to join up with other organisations.

As TSR is used by 75% of the 16-24 population, and gets 8.5 million visits to our websites each month, we are often approached, and listened to, by the political establishment as well as other media, and we feel it is right to use this position to help drive through a change we feel so passionately about.

If this is a cause that you feel strongly that you would like to help with, then post your interest in here, and we will get a private forum set-up to start discussing the best route forwards.

We want to do our bit to ensure your voice is heard. We hope you do too, and will join us in making this happen.

We understand their will be differences of opinion on this subject, and that's fine too.

Thanks

Chris

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Absolutely 100% against it. I dont even believe 18 year olds should be able to vote due to a lack of experience and understanding of how the world works. Just look at the great majority of Bernie supporters: College/University educated people with very little understanding of politics and economics - despite their education.

I know this is not possible, but around 30 seems a good age to make an educated vote.

Also, whats next, 12 year old vote?
I don't think 16 year olds are old enough or indeed mature enough.
Reply 3
There are immature people in all age groups, and you don't suddenly become more mature when you reach 18. And, it is younger people's future, and they deserve to have their say. All you can do is engage in mature discussion. Count me in.
Reply 4
We would be giving the vote to feotuses if people like you truly had your way. Your only advocating giving the vote to 16 year olds because you know they will vote in a certain manner.

Posted from TSR Mobile
If this was even a viable option there'd have to be some kind of mandatory political class in school. Seriously, I knew nothing about politics when I was 16.

Edit: I think there should be anyway. I'm 18 and I'm still incredibly ill informed. Just a little less so because I've decided to read up on things.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Galaxie501
Absolutely 100% against it. I dont even believe 18 year olds should be able to vote due to a lack of experience and understanding of how the world works. Just look at the great majority of Bernie supporters: College/University educated people with very little understanding of politics and economics - despite their education.

I know this is not possible, but around 30 seems a good age to make an educated vote.

Also, whats next, 12 year old vote?

Why is a 30 year old any more informed than say, a 25 year old? That would be ridiculous.
Original post by JordanL_
But most Trump and Clinton supporters have no understanding of politics or economics either. Most voters are idiots, it has nothing to do with age.

I used to strongly oppose lowering the voting age, but I support it now. They can't possibly **** things up anymore than the older generations already have.


Age is not a direct indicator about how "smart" someone is when it comes to voting - thats right as far as Im concerned.

There are loads of "stupid" old voters and loads of "stupid" young voters, but you can be sure AF that the chances of an educated vote go up along with age.

What do I mean with that? No matter what ideology or policy you vote for, whether youre a left winger or a right winger you at least have the life experience to back up your choice the older you are. Thats not the case with young voters 99% of the time.

My question is, where do you make the final line? You may aswell say that 10 year olds should be able to vote. The only real reason the current voting age is 18 in most western countries is because that is the age adulthood. If you go below that age you will have to make the cut-off age for voting somewhere else. Where will this be though?

Original post by Changing Skies
Why is a 30 year old any more informed than say, a 25 year old? That would be ridiculous.


Because he/she has half a decade more worth of life experiences than a 25 year old?

Also, 30 was just a random age that I came up with. It may aswell be 25 or 35. Thats debateable. My point was that 18 is technically still way too young.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 8
I don't see what relevance being able to drive or fly planes has to being able to vote.
I'm 18 and I still don't really feel that most friends of my age (or even me at times) are politically educated enough for such a responsibility.
i would say anyone who has reached the age of criminal responsibility should be able to vote.
Original post by the bear
i would say anyone who has reached the age of criminal responsibility should be able to vote.


Which is currently the case in most democratic countries. (Assuming you dont mean criminal juvinile detention)



Besides, that whole narcissistic selfie culture of my generation caused us to think we're way more important than we actually are. A bunch of entitled self loathing kids who party until they're 25 and then complain why they cant have kids at age 50.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Galaxie501
Which is currently the case in most democratic countries. (Assuming you dont mean criminal juvinile detention)


if you are old enough to be punished for your crimes you are old enough to vote. *
Original post by ChrisN
== We believe 16 and 17 year olds deserve to be heard in elections. If you agree and would like to get involved in researching our approach and then campaigning for change, please get in touch==


I think the word deserve is misused here, it implies that age group have done something that this is a reward for, when generally speaking that's not the case (and isn't the case for most people, regardless of age). Using "deserve" doesn't do your argument any good.
Original post by Elastichedgehog
If this was even a viable option there'd have to be some kind of mandatory political class in school. Seriously, I knew nothing about politics when I was 16.

Edit: I think there should be anyway. I'm 18 and I'm still incredibly ill informed. Just a little less so because I've decided to read up on things.


Some of the support team met up for some UCAS training a few weeks ago and said we do need some politics lessons in school. All I know about politics, I've learnt from the news, the web or my parents. I didn't vote because I didn't feel informed enough. But in the GE, I can go online and read each parties manifestoes.
Original post by Galaxie501
Absolutely 100% against it. I dont even believe 18 year olds should be able to vote due to a lack of experience and understanding of how the world works. Just look at the great majority of Bernie supporters: College/University educated people with very little understanding of politics and economics - despite their education.

I know this is not possible, but around 30 seems a good age to make an educated vote.

Also, whats next, 12 year old vote?


What a stupid idea. Young people get ****ed enough by the political system without making it even harder for their voice to be heard (and these are legal adults we're talking about).

This idea that 18 year olds are clueless about how the world works is highly offensive. That isn't to do with age, it's to do with how engaged they are in politics and current affairs, and those who aren't engaged with them are less likely to vote anyway.
Original post by Tiger Rag
Some of the support team met up for some UCAS training a few weeks ago and said we do need some politics lessons in school. All I know about politics, I've learnt from the news, the web or my parents. I didn't vote because I didn't feel informed enough. But in the GE, I can go online and read each parties manifestoes.


Of course :smile: The internet makes it a lot easier to gain access to the information but you still need to be able to understand what each party is telling you. A proportion of young people (of legal voting age) tend to vote without being informed anyway, so mandatory lessons would at least give them a basis of information of which they can decide who to vote for. It could also motivate more younger people to become interested in politics, and motivate people to vote who wouldn't have otherwise. I think it's a very good idea at least.
Original post by RF_PineMarten
What a stupid idea. Young people get ****ed enough by the political system without making it even harder for their voice to be heard (and these are legal adults we're talking about).

This idea that 18 year olds are clueless about how the world works is highly offensive. That isn't to do with age, it's to do with how engaged they are in politics and current affairs, and those who aren't engaged with them are less likely to vote anyway.


How exactly do "young people" get ****ed over when it comes to getting their voices heard? Literally all I hear is student protests here, student protests there, studentprotests everywhere. There are whining and *****ing "young" people around every corner, so I have no idea what you're on about.

If there is one age group that's sure to be overrepresented in every media outlet in every western country its "young" people......


Introduce a universal politics and economics test that is mandatory for anyone who wants to vote. This is, quite honestly, the only way to ensure a semi-educated vote. If you have no idea about politics or economics you have no right to vote as far as Im concerned. When we have such a test we can talk about letting 16 and 17 year olds into the voting booths.
(edited 7 years ago)
As much as in the case of the EU vote allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would have helped my side, in principle I am against it. Quite simply, most people of this age are absolutely clueless about life in the real world and have had no experience in living alone and managing their own affairs. Sadly, there are a number of highly engaged young activists who have to surrender their right to vote despite being more than informed enough to do so, but overall I think it is a necessary sacrifice to deprive this minority in the interests of preventing the moronic majority from expressing opinions that lack basic research and reason in the ballot box. That isn't to say that I think all older people should necessarily have the right - there are still many people in their 20's, 30's etc that have the political awareness of a baked potato, so I would (at least in theory) be in favour of introducing a short test at the top of the ballot about basic political and economic affairs to ensure that only those who score above a certain % have their 'informed' ballots counted. This would be done in secret, so no individual will know whether or not their ballot counted. Admittedly, this would discourage turnout and could discriminate against people who do not have access to such information, and I certainly don't expect it to ever happen, but in theory it would boost the average 'quality' of votes, if there is such as thing.This is coming from someone who is 17, and hence was too young to vote in the EU referendum btw. In all honesty I'd prefer that the voting age be raised to 21, where the majority of people have finished uni or have been working for a few years so at least have some degree of life experience and increased time for mental development.
Just because they are legally allowed to do be thing, doesn't mean they ought to be allowed to do another.

*Some sixteen year olds may be clever enough, mature enough, *and informed enough to vote, but then there are also a lot of scumbags, chavs etc who will not be.*

So sixteen year olds can vote. Boohoo, get over it. Wait another two years like everyone else did. *

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