Why should we lower the voting age?
Mr Shorten claims that lowering the voting age would help combat the “apathy and cynicism” of young people towards politics. While we wholeheartedly disagree that young people are apathetic, thank you very much, it’s not a very big stretch to say that young people don’t feel represented in Canberra. For one thing, the most MPs are between 40 and 59, which means they’re not exactly spring chickens. Plus, we haven’t had a Minister for Youth in quite a while. Just saying.
The obvious generational gap aside (despite some MPs’ having top-notch social media game), young people under the age of 18 are allowed to do the following things (in most states):
- Drive a car
- Pay income tax
- Be tried as an adult and sent to adult prison
- Sign a lease
- Fly a plane
- Get married
- Get a firearms license
- Become a parent
If people under the age of 18 are considered mature and responsible enough to FLY A PLANE, then it doesn’t really make sense that they’re not allowed to participate in our fine democracy by putting a piece of paper in a box.
via giphy.com
According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), around 63,000 young people aged 16 to 17 are already enrolled to vote, despite not being eligible to actually show up at a polling place until they’re 18. Kudos for being so keen though, team.
via giphy.com
Does it work in other places?
In countries where the voting age is 16 (countries like Austria, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Brazil) voter turnout is about the same as in other age groups. If you ask me, that suggests that 16-year-olds care about as much as adults do. In fact, 89% of all 16 – 17-year-olds voted in the Scottish referendum on independence earlier this year. Even North Korea allows 17-year-olds to vote. Some researchers have even claimed that turnout for first time voters who are 16 and 17 is higher than in the 18 to 20 age-bracket, although 18 to 20-year-olds are still well within the average voter turnout for any age group. Take that, grown-ups.
via giphy.com
Why are some people so against it?
There are a few different kinds of naysayers. There are those who think that giving 16-year-olds the vote will distract them from important things, like Netflix exams. When NSW MP Jodi McKay called for the NSW government to lower the voting age to 16 in the state, a Broken Hill student told The Age that young people have other things to focus on.
“We’re in Year 11 and 12, we’ve got the stress of the HSC, and it’s just something that I don’t think we need to worry about,” she said.
via giphy.com
Then there are those that it’s a “gimmick” that would waste taxpayer money. Like most news sites, I turned to Twitter to get all the hot goss from this group.
Suggesting a voting age of 16 is a sure indication of a desperate policy deficit #auspol
— Prof Kerryn Phelps (@drkerrynphelps) November 1, 2015
Finally, there’s the old “emotional maturity” chestnut. Again, here’s a Tweet to emphasise my point:
16 year-old’s still have the same emotional intelligence we had at 16. They just act older. Bizarre idea to change voting age.
— Richard Hinds (@rdhinds) October 30, 2015
What’s going to happen now?
It’s highly unlikely, given how strongly Liberal MPs have dismissed it, that the laws around the voting age are going to change any time soon. First we’ll have to wait until the election, and then if Labor wins they will have to get the law passed in both houses of Parliament that amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918, which states that every Australian citizen over the age of 18 has a duty to participate in elections. So if you’re under 18, I wouldn’t be getting too excited about the election day sausage sizzle. But who knows?
It’s #auspol in 2015, so literally anything could happen.
via giphy.com
The post Straight outta High School: Everything you need to know about lowering the voting age to 16 appeared first on FYA.