Opinion: Time To Lower The Voting Age?
[Opinion column written by Jonathan Starling]
The recent Scottish independence referendum has been inspiring on many levels, not the least for the 86% turn out, or the national conversation [and resulting UK wide discussion now on constitutional change] related to the referendum itself.
One of the key lessons that one can draw from the independence referendum is that lowering the voting age to 16 has been a resounding success.
Passed by a special act of the Scottish Parliament, the voting age was lowered just for this referendum, although with its success there will now be calls for lowering the voting age for all elections going forward.
Of the voters in Thursday’s referendum, 100,000 were new voters aged between 16 and 17.
Within the school system students learned about how voting works and had an opportunity to debate the pros and cons of independence for Scotland. They also participated in a televised mass debate, questioning Yes and No representatives, in the concluding weeks of the campaign.
By all accounts these young voters have proven their ability to reason and engage in critical thinking about an important decision, and the evidence indicates that this experience has encouraged a whole new generation of actively engaged voters. Quite frankly, the future looks good for increased youth participation in Scottish democracy.
This idea is something that I included in my 2012 general election platform; specifically, “Commission a report to investigate the pros and cons of reducing the age at which one is able to vote [currently 18 years of age] and run for parliament [currently 21 years of age] to 16 years of age, as well as consulting with the public on additional options to encourage greater youth participation in the democratic process.”
I believe that 16 year olds are capable of making mature and responsible decisions, and the experience of the Scottish independence referendum confirms this.
It has been my experience that if you treat people with respect and with belief in their abilities, they will live up to those expectations; and conversely, if you treat the youth as irresponsible and incapable of being responsible members of society, they too will live up to those negative expectations.
As the Scottish independence referendum has proven, a lower voting age works – that can no longer be in question, despite the concerns and ageism that may be a natural reaction for many in our society.
Either we believe Scottish teenagers are somehow superior to Bermudian teenagers, or we recognise that teenagers are capable of using their vote responsibly. I subscribe to the latter belief.
Beyond 16 year olds proving their abilities to handle having the vote with responsibility, lowering the voting age also encourages political parties to take seriously the concerns of the youth who are all too often ignored by our political elites.
This will lead to the issues affecting the youth to be properly addressed in the future.
It will also help encourage our youth to become more actively involved as constructive and engaged members of our society.
Sixteen and seventeen year olds can be as informed and as passionate about the world they live in as any other voter, and are equally capable of engaging in the democratic system.
It is crucial to creating a vibrant democracy that voters can engage with the political system from a young age, and reducing the voting age to 16 is a key part of this – it’s time to hear the voice of young people in our politics.
- Jonathan Starling
This sounds like a proposal to counter the possible effects of the PRC vote.
In my experience I’d guess that only about 8% of 16 year old locals are politically aware. Not to mention that their brains don’t finish baking until about 21+, so no. Not a good idea.
Good!
Yes their brains don’t finish baking until about 25 years old but they still have one. What they mean when they say that is the part of the brain that makes rational decisions is still developing which is why young people often make idiotic choices. It is not true for everyone though. I know plenty of adults over 25 whose brains surely didn’t develop properly. I suppose according to that logic everyone under 25 shouldn’t have a say in anything political or be allowed to do anything, including drinking, driving and working…you know since that brain isn’t quite ripe yet but somehow I’m sure you’d disagree with that, right? Even more the absurd the voting age is 18 so your 21+ claim is moronic on multiple levels. If we go by that the voting age should be raised to 25. I’m sure certain folk would love that though.
Hey , if you want a bunch of 16 year olds to make decisions without any political or business experience to make what would be life altering decisions for you , fine . Most of us are smarter than that . At least I hope ‘most’ of us are.
Yeah on the 25 . Looking around here and how things have changed in the last 30 or so years I’d agree with raising the car/motor cycle license to 21 . Work ? Send them out at 10 years old like I was (and it wasn’t a bag packing job at a supermart either)and make them understand that the world doesn’t revolve around a cell phone or iPod .
If you think I’m off base check out the vast majority or replies below .
Where did I state that? 18 year olds don’t have any of those things either…which was part of my my point. Apparently that went over your head. You sure your brain is fully developed? You are also contradicting yourself.
I actually do think they should raise the age but you lost me at the 10 year olds working part. That’s a bit much.
I really don’t care what the other replies from old out of touch people think.
Get a job JS. That way you might be useful (for a change).
TtT
I just wish I knew what it was that you were trying to say in both your posts so that maybe I could clarify for you . Or just determine whether you’re agreeing or attacking.
I did check with 2 other people and they couldn’t figure out either what your stance was based on what you posted , so it isn’t just me .
AHHH….. No .
Oh the irony.
Comrade Starling, the son of immigrants himself, trumpeting the lowering of the voting age in Scotland while denying the right to vote to long term adult residents in Bermuda.
Are we not all immigrants to this island????????????????????????????
Jonathan, why stop there? The Scottish referendum provided for ALL RESIDENTS over 16 to vote. Which meant, I am sure, you participated in the vote, as a resident of Scotland aged over 16. Rather than pick and choose little bits and pieces of the democratic process, why not do the whole thing, and have a system whereby everyone living here gets to have a say in how they are governed?
That would be real democracy.
You are correct Creamy. There are PRC and other residents who have lived in Bermuda for more than 16 years who have paid taxes, contribute to the community etc and yet have no vote. Talk about undemocratic, but what can you expect from someone who prides himself on being able to vote in Scotland and Bermuda? Remember how at one meeting about PRC holders obtaining status the question was “will you give up your right to vote somewhere else”?
No to 16 year olds or dropping the age to enter Parliament. At least start with being civilised and allowing all residents to vote, just like Scotland, unless, using Jonathan Starlings words “Scots are superior to Bermudians”.
I got as far as 16 in the second paragraph.
Are you kidding???
At 16 we had lots of things on our minds. Important things like music, bikes & the opposite sex. I don’t recall politics entering the mind very often except for around the table at dinner time when the grumblings about politicians was much the same as it is today.
Even at 21, when we thought we knew everything there was to know, politics was a small part of what was thought to be important. It took another 10 years to even begin to learn that back when we thought we knew everything we were actually pretty stupid.
Many years on & the learning continues.
Voting at 16…NUTS!
Don’t forget bikes! And the drinking age!
I agree with you Jonathan, but only to a point. Where we part company is that in my opinion not all 16 and 17 year olds can engage in critical thought, however many can. Just look at what subjects students are taking today and if one does well in these academics one should be able to think for themselves and make informed decisions. Well having said this not all teens in this age group can reason as well as others. Many teens do, and some might argue should, have their minds on other things.Lets face it some people never grow up but 18 they can vote even if they can hardly read. I also doubt that giving the right to vote to them will be a magic pill for their maturity. So if a 16 or 17 year old proves themselves academically and this should be at high level b+ average or higher then let them have the vote. But Jonathan give the right to PRC also.
Oh and yes if your argument back is that this will give the vote to private schools (OBA) then your issue is really with government education so this might be the path you should be taking.
Funny. You’d be surprised how 16 year olds would vote. Be careful what you wish for.
Meh. We adults haven’t exactly voted in pillars of excellence over the past several election cycles.
With the infantilizing of young adults these days, I would argue that the voting age should be raised, not lowered. I don’t think 18 yr olds these days are as mature as 18 yr olds were twenty or thirty years ago. I think adults should have to experience the responsibilities of adult life before making important decisions like voting. Given an option, I would raise it to 25.
I have a 10 year old who is very aware of the politcal landscape and debates with adults about his views on various issues. If my ten year old is politically savvy then a 16 year should be able to demostrate some level of maturity. Don’t underestimate our young people, if you hold them to higher expectations you would be surprised what transpires.
The other factor to bear in mind is that Scottish people living abroad were not allowed to vote, despite being born and raised there. However, people moving into Scotland from the EU…Lithuanians, Poles etc who may have been living there a year were able to vote! One lady who was clearly an immigrant and had lived in Scotland for just over a year said on TV that she voted yes because she came from a small island!!!!! Really….go figure…people have lived here 20 yrs and don’t get a vote so you can’t compare Bermuda with Scotland…
Nah not according to toodle-oo. They think 10 year olds should work but 16 year olds are too dumb to be politically aware. On one hand people like that think 16 year olds should be tried as adults should they get into legal trouble and on the other hand they think they are too young to vote.
A 10 year old politically savy….Dreamer.
You lot really are on something else if you think it’s wise to lower the voting age to 16. Knowing Bermudian youth, do you think they will vote, let alone do ANY research into who they are actually voting for? The fact of the matter is, you are saying that a 16 year old’s opinion is as valuable as a 50 year old man’s? Let’s be realistic here, that is a recipe for disaster through ignorance….
and he wonders why no one would vote for him! lol!
Have you been drinking Marc Bean’s Ganja Tea?
Some 16 year olds are of course politically aware and can make an informed decision, but in my humble opinion, the majority would just follow the views of their parents/ family and so their contribution would be little. I am well educated and from a politically aware background, and that’s what I would have done at that age. Also agree that 16 year olds now are less mature in a lot of ways.
This character Jonathan Starling is getting what he seeks, “publicity”
Anyone in their “mature mind” knows that permitting a 16 year old to vote is absolutely ludicrous!
Why 16? Seriously. Why?
Could someone tell me the difference between a 16 year old and a 15 year old?
Jonathan is playing politics. There is no rationale for including these young people. He even tried to bring credibility to his argument by mentioning….”and had an opportunity to debate the pros and cons of independence for Scotland”.
Just change that for the PLP.
They were only allowed to vote as a “one off” for the referendum…this was seen as a ploy to influence these young people either way.. who really understands politics at 16….a few yes, but just a few. They will not be voting in the General Election so the voting age has not been dropped! The Scottish people were very divided with the referendum.However,despite the small majority, they voted no. Remember this is a country that has billions in oil reserves (oil won’t last forever)…a Bank that went bust and relied on the taxpayers of the UK to come to the rescue…16year olds would find that difficult to fathom given that their brains have not reached growing otential…
Scottish people living outside the Uk were not allowed to vote..yet Europeans who had moved there were able to vote…even if they had been living there for a year..imagine that..One lady stated on TV…she was European and had lived in Scotland for a yr that she voted yes because Scotland was a small country like the one she left…go figure…
Presumably Starling would want the same here, as he was so enamored with the Scottish referendum. Presumably he would advocate that, in order to be as democratic as possible, we should give the right to vote to all residents of Bermuda. That would be just like Scotland. True, pure democracy.
It is quite false to consider that a 16 year old can not think or make decisions with respect to the future of their country. One of the out standing things that the recent vote on independence for Scotland proved; is that this age group can make a decision with respect to their country, It is going to be interesting to see if the sixteen year old right to vote is going to remain for general elections from now on; now that the genie has been led out of the bottle so to speak. And if the 16 year old vote remains in Scotland; will that extend to voting rights for 16 year old for England? In Bermuda we seem to forget that 16; 17 year old is generally the age group for the youth parliament. Some time ago I heard a senior school debate between two groups on the question of independence for Bermuda where the level of debate was quite high. In some countries you can be charge as an adult for capital crimes at age 16. Even in the question of the computer age the leaders are in many respects are the younger generations leaving many in the older generation far behind in terms of understanding and functioning in today’s society. So I believe the lowing of the voter age to perhaps age 16 will only serve to strengthen the democratic process and thus should not be feared.
And, like they did in Scotland, giving voting rights to ALL RESIDENTS would also “strengthn the democratic process and should not be feared”. Right Alvin?
it was a “one off”..they will not vote in the next General election…
It’s not about fear…again…remember that Scotland has billions of pounds in reserve through oil…we have zilch but a huge deficit
No I am not prepared to go that far in giving all residents to right to vote in Bermuda; not in Bermuda’s current colonial and racial contexts. In Scotland there was never a threat to the primacy of the Scottish people; even if a portion of that non-Scottish resident population had a high level of British citizens from the English homeland. at any rate I doubt whether that non-Scottish population resident in Scotland was above 5% other wise if the Scottish people felt all that pressed by the foreigner so to speak; than the anti-independence vote would have had a different out come.
Citizens of 77 other countries resident in Scotland were allowed to vote. All of them. It was a triumph of democracy. Ask Starling, the Bermudian son of immigrants to Bermuda, who was allowed to vote because he is resident there. You can’t pick and choose which bits of democracy favour you, Alvin. You either want full democracy or you don’t. If all residents vote it is more democratic. The vote in Britain was more democratic that the elections we have in Bermuda.
I think Alvin is saying he would agree to full democracy as long as the additional people will vote like him. Since democracy is all about choice and one vote of equal value this will never be accepted in Bermuda by the PLP.
The PLP says it is not a “black party” yet Alvin clearly confirms it is and by fighting against those PRC to become Bermudians, thanks to legislation passed by the PLP, and probably a small number, merely reaffirms that the PLP is not all embracing. Why not allow PRC who have lived here over 20 years full status and vote? A lot don’t even want status.
Not all are white English expats in IB, despite what the PLP want people to believe.
Opinion: Time To Lower The Voting Age?
This is a joke right? It isn’t? OK then, Hell No!!
Do 16 yr olds pay taxes? This guy Starling is a dreamer.
Insane… our 16 y ear olds are out there bashing each other’s heads in with helmets and god knows what. Shooting each other etc. That along with the fact that the human brain isnt fully developed until around the age of 25, if anything… in Bermuda the age should be raised to that age not lowered!!