Nine Good Reasons
1. Generate Greater Interest
Ensuring that young people can vote at 16 years of age will generate interest and a greater awareness of politics at an earlier age. Political awareness at a younger age may lead to more political involvement and a greater connection between young people’s involvement in a variety of political forums such as student councils and students’ union activism.
Ensuring that political interest is cultivated at an earlier age can only be a positive step. Such civic, social and political engagement is an integral part of an individual’s personal and social development. Like participation in extra-curricular activities outside the classroom such as youth organisations, sport or debating, the right to vote at 16 years of age will serve to empower younger people with the right to influence decisions that will affect their lives.
Since the introduction of vote at 16 in Austria, research conducted on voting behaviour of young voters aged 16 – 18 years of age revealed the following: Young people are interested in politics. Two thirds expressed interest in the election campaign. Turnout of the young people 16-18 years is comparable with the total national electorate. Young people of 16-18 years of age did not vote more radically than the adult population but voted in a similar way.
2. Promote Political Participation
Reducing the age of voter eligibility to 16 will serve as a kick-start in the promotion of politics to young people and young people’s participation, awareness and cognisance of political issues affecting them.
It is true that young people learn about democracy and active citizenship in school and in youth groups, however like learning to drive, the best way to learn is to actually put the theory into practice and get behind the wheel. Likewise giving young people the vote at 16 allows them to practice what they learn.Voter participation needs to be encouraged and supported. Lowering the voter age will serve to foster a greater political consciousness amongst young people.
The earlier we engage young people in democracy and politics the greater the chance that we will promote and sustain a lifelong interest and commitment to voting and participation in the democratic process.
At the moment there is a big problem with the voting registration system. In a survey we carried out in 20094 up to 26% of young people aged 18-25 were not registered to vote. This is partly due to the fact that at 18 the vast majority of young people are moving away from home to college, training or work and they fall through the administrative cracks. The vast majority of young people aged 16 are in school or training, so it would be very easy for local authorities to put young people on the register.
3. Why Not?
If a 16 year old can leave school, seek full-time employment, be liable for tax and obtain a licence to drive a tractor, why then can they not be entrusted with the civic responsibility of voting? The youth sections of the main political parties allow young people to join at either 15 or 16, therefore the political parties themselves recognise the capacity and importance of engaging young people as early as possible.
4. Mature Enough!
NYCI reject the argument that an electorate under the age of 18 years of age would not be mature enough to make informed decisions on voting. The current age of majority in the Republic of Ireland is 18 years of age. At 18 years of age, an individual can run for Local Government, marry, serve on jury duty and vote in local, general and European elections. However, there is not a considerable difference between an 18 year old and a 16 year old in terms of mental capacity for thought and development. An individual at 16 years of age is mature enough to inform themselves on issues affecting their lives and engage in the political system through the electoral system.
5. The Demographic Factor
Demographic trends reveal that Ireland like the rest of Europe is aging. These demographics have serious implications for the future political arena in Ireland. If greater measures (such as reducing the voter age to 16) are not implemented to actively engage young people in the political system at an earlier age, the consequences for democracy will be threatened by the emergence of a Government and political representatives elected by a minority who are unrepresentative. Such a situation would have profound implications for future generations and would result in the emergence of a State, which is not accountable to the majority of its citizens.
The ideal behind any democratic system of governance is to establish a Government, which is representative of the electorate. When a large section of the population does not or cannot take part in the democratic process, that process cannot claim to be fully representative.
6. Young people are informed
Unlike previous generations, young people are much more informed as they undertake courses at school such as the Civil, Social and Political Education course. Unlike previous generations who may only have had access to local and national media, young people today have access to the internet where they can get information and engage in discussions on issues and politics.
As young people are taught about democracy and participation at school through courses like the civil, social and political education course, they should also get a chance to practice it through being able to vote.
7. Putting Youth Issues on to the Political Agenda
Lowering the voting age to 16 would help to engage young people with democracy and ensure their voice is heard. If the voting age was reduced to 16, more young people are likely to participate and engage in party politics. Political parties would benefit from younger recruits whose vibrancy and youth could greatly contribute to the formulation of policies, which reflect the views of a large section of society.
The involvement of more young people in Irish politics would serve to introduce innovative and fresh ideas to the policy-making table. It would also ensure issues affecting young people specifically would gain more prominence on the political arena because the people affected by those issues would be able to exercise their franchise to influence the policy-making process.
8. Why 16 rather than 17?
Although the Constitutional Convention has been asked to consider a reduction of the voting age to 17, the work of the Youth Council on this issue indicates that lowering the voting age to 16 would be preferable as it is at this age that young people gain many rights and responsibilities in society (for example, they can leave school, seek full-time employment and pay taxes). Moreover, at the age of 16 the majority of young people are in school, studying subjects such as Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE), and not solely concentrating on the Leaving Certificate curriculum. We contend that the age of 16 is an optimum time to introduce young people to the electoral system.
9. Consistency with our European Counterparts…
There is a global and European momentum towards extending the right to vote to young people at 16 and 17 years old. Austria has lowered the voting age for all elections to 16. Seven of the 16 states in Germany have lowered the voting age and a region in Switzerland has introduced it. In Austria and Germany the voter turnout of young people aged 16 and 17 was equal to that of older age groups. Other countries such as the UK and Denmark are also considering such a move.
Vote at 16 has been introduced in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. There are proposals for the impending referendum in Scotland on Scottish Independence in 2014 to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year olds.
Furthermore there are proposals by the EU Parliament to allow young people across the EU to vote in EU Parliamentary elections at the age of 16 and 17 years.
