No.. and here are the answers to the following posts that will argue for it:
1. But I can do X/Y/Z at 16!! why not vote
Ans: Most of what you can do is with permission.. you can marry, with permission, you can join the army, only in a non-combat role, and only with permission etc. For every 1 thing you can do at 16, there are 3 that you cant.. you are still very much not an adult in the eyes of the law.
2. But I have to live with it longer! Its my future!
Ans: Its a 14 year olds future more than yours. Should they vote.. its a 12 year olds future more then theirs etc. etc.
3. My birthday is a day before/after, I should be able to vote!
Ans: Its unlucky, but where ever you put the cut-off someone gets screwed over. If you move it to 16, there will be aperson who is 15.9999 the day before the election, who will be just like you, and feel the same.
4. I have more knowledge than a lot of adults and my parents, why shouldn't I vote!
Ans: The voting age isn't about how clever you are or how much you know.. its about your possition in society. Its not a means test, otherwise people would be calling for IQ tests or questions at the voting booth. Instead its a reflection that every adult who contributes to society gets a say in how it functions. Obviously some don't contribute, but to take their vote away would be a logistical nightmare and cruel as it only takes in short-term circumstnaces
5. I am more mature than many 18 year olds!
Ans: Maybe.. but that's not normal. On average 18 year olds are more mature. That said this isn't relevant because the voting age isn't set because of maturity alone.
6. lets do it, but also increase poltiical classes in schools!
Ans: Great idea.. school teachers are overwhelmingly left-wing, and young people are statistically far more impressionable than old people. You can guess what's going to happen if you do that.
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The voting age was set, and then lowerd to 18 as a reflection of your possition in society. Its when, traditionally, you were a fully functioning and contirbuting memeber of society who deserved a say. 30-40 years ago its the age you moved into your own home, prepared to get married, staretd to think about children, got a full-time job, paid taxes etc.
These days how many 18 year olds do that?
Do you want to know the reality.. multiple studies have shown, as reported in the BBC last year that actually 2 things are happening in our society:
1 - children are maturing into teenagers younger..
But
2 - teenagers are maturing into adults OLDER..
The average adolesnce now ends around 22-25 for most people. That is the age that by all normal metrics, most people are now acting and thinking as adults. Our culture and univerisites have prolonged adolesence and delayed adulthood.. and as a result there is a far far more sociologically sound arguement for raising the voting age than lowering it, to reflect what's happened over the past 20 years to young people.
Now, I would never do that.. its easy to give someone a vote, its much harder to take it away, and I don't think that removing the vote from 18 year olds is a good idea at all. But for every weak arguement for lowering the voting age, there is a much stronger arguement for raising it. So for all those who want to play the game of voting-ages, be careful.. because the debate doesn't go in the dirrection you want it to, when you actually start to look at what's changing in our society.
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50% of adults who want to lower the voting age, are in it for political reasons. Young people vote Labour/Lib dems, why wouldn't they want a massive new voter base?
50% of adults who want to lower the voting age, do it because they have lost confidence in the authority and possition of adults over children.. They no longer think they know best, and would rather just let the children decide and get what they want, out of fear of making a mistake, doing the wrong thing, or not being equal/kind/fair.