In the news this fortnight:
- A crazy Austrian does crazy Austrian things
- One million people tuned in to see Felix Baumgar-whatsit go splat on his landing to Earth (seriously - when his parachute opened safely, one million people stopped watching)
- A man goes and hits multiple people in an area of Cardiff I used to live near.
- A car bomb goes off in Syria, and people in Lebanon worry that the war could spill over to their country.
- Flooding happens on flood planes
- Half of the BBC may be taken out by Jimmy Savile alone
- Syria begin a ceasefire
- Berlusconi is sentenced to four years for tax fraud
- Complaints continue about GCSEs
- I finally choose my A-levels
- I have roughly a term to get my Maths grade up otherwise they may not let me into Physics and Maths A-level
Today, I'm talking about the vote at 16.
As Scotland want to do the independence referendum including 16-year olds, re-igniting the debate over whether or not the vote should be lowered to 16-year olds. As I will be just under 18 when the next general election rolls around, I'm naturally a big supporter of this.
I hear one argument that nobody under 18 would vote, yet a quick scan of two polls* indicate that turnout among the 18-24's is actually increasing from 2001 (31% turnout in 2001, 44% in 2010). Admittedly, this is still older than their elder counterparts, but looking at the trend it could be that the 16-18 year-olds would have a roughly 40% turnout. And I don't have a confirmation on this, but there's every possibility that the first time around could garner an interest in some 16/17 year-olds as wanting to vote in the "first one".
Another argument is "16-year olds are too immature". I remember one anecdote saying that a "19-year old said to me that she'd vote for Boris Johnson because she finds him funny". The thing is, these aren't the people who will actually bother to vote in the long run. Or, they'll turn up to the polling station, see the long queues, and bugger off again. The people who would vote, however, are people like my friend and I. While in Switzerland, we ended up discussing the merits of the Eurozone (I'm anti, she's pro). It's alright for her, she'll be old enough to vote when the time comes around.
There's also the fact that 16-year olds pay taxes to consider. Sometimes, the government's one-sided thinking amuses me. They believe that we're mature enough to pay taxes, to make a contribution to society. But we're not mature enough to have a say in who we think should run the country, who should represent our beliefs, who should speak for us.
Like everything, it's ultimately politics. No government wants to be the government who lost power because they gave the 16 year olds the vote. And keeping them quiet is ultimately the only way they can continue.
*Sources:
http://www.idea.int/vt/by_age.cfm (26 Oct '12)
http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=2613&view=wide (26 Oct '12)
- A crazy Austrian does crazy Austrian things
- One million people tuned in to see Felix Baumgar-whatsit go splat on his landing to Earth (seriously - when his parachute opened safely, one million people stopped watching)
- A man goes and hits multiple people in an area of Cardiff I used to live near.
- A car bomb goes off in Syria, and people in Lebanon worry that the war could spill over to their country.
- Flooding happens on flood planes
- Half of the BBC may be taken out by Jimmy Savile alone
- Syria begin a ceasefire
- Berlusconi is sentenced to four years for tax fraud
- Complaints continue about GCSEs
- I finally choose my A-levels
- I have roughly a term to get my Maths grade up otherwise they may not let me into Physics and Maths A-level
Today, I'm talking about the vote at 16.
As Scotland want to do the independence referendum including 16-year olds, re-igniting the debate over whether or not the vote should be lowered to 16-year olds. As I will be just under 18 when the next general election rolls around, I'm naturally a big supporter of this.
I hear one argument that nobody under 18 would vote, yet a quick scan of two polls* indicate that turnout among the 18-24's is actually increasing from 2001 (31% turnout in 2001, 44% in 2010). Admittedly, this is still older than their elder counterparts, but looking at the trend it could be that the 16-18 year-olds would have a roughly 40% turnout. And I don't have a confirmation on this, but there's every possibility that the first time around could garner an interest in some 16/17 year-olds as wanting to vote in the "first one".
Another argument is "16-year olds are too immature". I remember one anecdote saying that a "19-year old said to me that she'd vote for Boris Johnson because she finds him funny". The thing is, these aren't the people who will actually bother to vote in the long run. Or, they'll turn up to the polling station, see the long queues, and bugger off again. The people who would vote, however, are people like my friend and I. While in Switzerland, we ended up discussing the merits of the Eurozone (I'm anti, she's pro). It's alright for her, she'll be old enough to vote when the time comes around.
There's also the fact that 16-year olds pay taxes to consider. Sometimes, the government's one-sided thinking amuses me. They believe that we're mature enough to pay taxes, to make a contribution to society. But we're not mature enough to have a say in who we think should run the country, who should represent our beliefs, who should speak for us.
Like everything, it's ultimately politics. No government wants to be the government who lost power because they gave the 16 year olds the vote. And keeping them quiet is ultimately the only way they can continue.
*Sources:
http://www.idea.int/vt/by_age.cfm (26 Oct '12)
http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=2613&view=wide (26 Oct '12)
