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16 year olds should legally be allowed to vote in my opinion (lemmy.ca)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

37 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Seriously it really grinds my gears that the Canadian government thinks that 16 years olds are mature and intelligent enough to drive a car, work a full-time job, pay taxes, apply for a passport, and are able to live independently on their own without a parent or guardian if they want to and get married with parent consent.

But when it comes to voting the Canadian thinks 16 year olds are not mature and intelligent enough to vote. Its completely ridiculous in my opinion.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I think 18 is low enough. I don’t think most 16 year olds have enough life experience yet to make informed decisions about government and politics.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'll take that risk, having seen how most of the "wizened" people with life experience vote.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Adults already fall prey to team politics, so it’s a bit of a weak argument—I know.

I think it would still be interesting to get an official youth vote, even if it did not count, to quantify the issues as they see it.

[–] hihellobyeoh 3 points 5 months ago

This could be really good, they could have 2-4 years of actually showing up at the polling location, and even better for politicians, they would be able to see the data related to what the next voters are worried about, allowing them to change how they campaign... I'm starting to like this decision less.

[+] [email protected] -11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Well then I guess we can just agree to disagree because in my opinion I think most 16-year-old have enough life experience and are able to make informed decisions about the government and politics.

And I also think that if a 16 year old commits a crime they should be charged as adult.

[–] rdyoung 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I don't know what circles you grew up in but in my entire life I've met only a handful of teenagers who not only know what the fuck is actually going on but care enough to do something about it. I interact regularly with college students at a fairly respected and prestigious University and most of them have no fucking idea what is going on in the world or what needs to happen to make changes, how complicated things actually are, etc.

One main reason why under 18 shouldn't vote is the concern that the adults around them will bully them into voting against their own beliefs and interests regardless of which side anyone may be on.

I skimmed your history here and you sound like a kid who is feeling too big for their britches.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

I bring up life experience because most 16 year olds are starting to take a Civics class in high school and are balancing this out while discovering their own social identity. Do I think that young people, on average, make good decisions? Not necessarily, but I also think adults aren’t perfect decision makers either.

I’ve since learned that political party members as young as 14 years old are allowed to vote in party leadership elections, so there is precedence in reducing the voting age minimum.

If young people continue to show engagement in politics, however, I could see the conversation being taken more seriously and the voting age being reduced (to 16 or 17) before the end of the decade.