Age vote to 16

[JorCON5]

Just because a person is an adult doesn't make him/her a better citizen. I know of 16 year olds who are far more inclined than adults. Also I would say that adults tend to be less flexible and "stuck in their ways". I like the point that RB pointed out that there would be an emphasis on much maligned issues like education and the environment. As people get older they get out of touch with certain aspects of society. By allowing a younger voter to cast, it would cover more topics.

My only objection is that kids (along with many adults) get their information from TV shows or celebrities. Perhaps we could make the civics course (we have it in Ontario...I'm not sure if it exists in any other provinces/territories) more engaging.

 

[Reverend Blair]

A right for whom? When my kids were 12 they didn't have that right. It's a right for responsible adults, and should stay that way.

We decide that as a society. We should decide to let 16 year olds vote.

I just wonder though, voter apathy is quite common among younger people, just how many 16 yr olds will vote even if they are allowed to?

That depends on how we handle it. If we just say, "You can vote," and let it end there, it likely won't make much of a difference. If take this as an opportunity to get people politically involved and combine the new enfranchisment with education, then we can use it to address voter apathy.

 

[MMMike]

Hey, it would be great to have some sort of dummy test you have to pass before you vote but it's just not practical. I am even more wary of this so called "civics class". This could easily be set up as a propaganda lesson by the teachers unions, or whoever holds the reigns of power at the time.

 

[JorCON5]

All teachers do that to some degree. I remember when Harris was in the teachers would sometimes rant on and on. As long as the civics class was standardized I think it would be okay. Politics by its very nature is slanted so any exposure is bound to be biased. Whether they get it at school or somewhere else is irrelevent.

 

[Reverend Blair]

The curriculum isn't that hard to put together...these are the parties, these are their platforms, these are their histories. This is our federal system, this is our federal system's history. This is your provincial system, this is your provincial system's history.

 

[dukee]

The age of majority, which is the age in which society deems you mature enough to enter into a legally binding contract is the age of 18. I believe this also holds as a good benchmark in regards to voting.

 

[Reverend Blair]

Did you work when you were sixteen, Dukee? Accepting a job is accepting a legally binding contract.

Did you pay taxes on your wages when you worked? Do you not deserve a say in how those taxes are spent?

Did you buy a car when you were sixteen, Dukee? That's another legally binding contract.

The truth is that people under the age of eighteen enter in contracts all of the time...with or without their parent's consent.

 

[no1important]

16 year olds are at that point in life when things start to affect them, like education, especially when only 2 years from post-secondary education, starting their first job and paying taxes, getting drivers license's, and the list goes on. So why shouldn't they get to vote for people who make policies that will start to really affect them?

I think the age should of been 16 years ago if not 15 just to get younger people involved.

So what if you can't sign a legal contract or drink until you are 18 or 19 depending on province. That is not a good arguement.

15 and 16 year olds still drink. (OT. I think 16 should be legal drinking age)

I believe you can join the military at 17 maybe 16? so they can defend Canada but not vote? That makes no sense.

What is the diference between a 16 or 17 year old voting and an 18 or 19 year old? none.

As far as I am concerned since most governments are 4 years on average, anyone who will be 18 by the end of the 4 years or make it 3 years from the election date should be allowed to vote. Were a democratic country.

I wonder what would happen if a 16 year old took this to SCOC? Does it violate charter?

 

[smitty295]

As well as 16 year olds work jobs make money and pay taxes we pay taxes to the government and we should be able to chose which gavernment we pay taxes too.

 

[Chake99]

Hey, it would be great to have some sort of dummy test you have to pass before you vote but it's just not practical. I am even more wary of this so called "civics class". This could easily be set up as a propaganda lesson by the teachers unions, or whoever holds the reigns of power at the time.

Yeah I heard of a friend who in Gr. 6 had to right a paper on how the Harris government was so bad for education in Ontario. He was pissed off, wrote one detailing how it was good and got a fail. (not in Civics though...)

Civics from what I've heard though is pretty biased left-wing. Not that I have anything against biases one just has to wary of them. My Geo textbook/class was also incredibly left-wing biased.

(real post
I see nothing wrong with a 16 year old voting, any of them that cared enough to vote would be knowledgeable enough to have a vote worth counting.

And now... *drumroll* let's see if any of you can guess my age or think that I'm responsible enough to vote if I wanted to...

 

[p106_peppy]

well I'm gonna say your under 18.

 

[DasFX]

How do we decide what age one can vote? What magically happens on one's 18th birthday to allow someone to vote? Some would say that people at 16 aren't smart or aware enough to be given that responsibility. I think when I was 16, I knew as much or more than many people I know today at my age (27).

I think the criteria to vote shouldn't be based on age, but rather on how informed one is. This wouldn't be practical, but I think everyone, at any age should have the right to vote, so long as they are informed and understand the issues.

In my opinion there are a lot of folk over 18 who really shouldn't be allowed to vote on the grounds of being complete idiots.

 

[Chake99]

Re: RE: Age vote to 16

How do we decide what age one can vote? What magically happens on one's 18th birthday to allow someone to vote? Some would say that people at 16 aren't smart or aware enough to be given that responsibility. I think when I was 16, I knew as much or more than many people I know today at my age (27).

I think the criteria to vote shouldn't be based on age, but rather on how informed one is. This wouldn't be practical, but I think everyone, at any age should have the right to vote, so long as they are informed and understand the issues.

In my opinion there are a lot of folk over 18 who really shouldn't be allowed to vote on the grounds of being complete idiots.

and consider the fact that barely any young people vote. I doubt the complete idiots are among those that do.

Since it would be so "odd" for a young person to vote they wouldn't vote unless they had a strong compulsion to. Which would probably come from being informed about the issues and caring.

However, young people have not always developed political views that much different from their parents by that point, so it just might be more votes for parents with kids 16-17.

 

[I think not]

16-year-olds should not be able to vote. Their views are not based on any real experience, and tend to be idealistic and simplistic. They would also be more likely to vote the same as their peers, just to keep in fashion. I am not saying it gets much better at 18, but the line has to be somewhere. Whereas some 16 year olds have a general idea on politics, I cannot see how most of them have a handle on it since most adults are in the same boat. Maybe the next generation.

 

[Reverend Blair]

Their views are not based on any real experience, and tend to be idealistic and simplistic.

The same could be said of a lot of 50 year olds, I think not.

16 year olds have more of a stake in long-term policies because they will have to live with those policies longer.

 

[cub1c]

Their views are not based on any real experience,

I know 16-17 yrs old kids that probably have more life experience than you and me combined.

Adults are kids with debts.

 

[I think not]

Is that right cub1c? You AND me combined? I had no idea we were acquainted. I've visited Montreal high schools and have spoken to students, I have seen them in class and out of class, I wasn't impressed. It's all based on simple logic, the easier students have it nowadays the less they have to think about.1

Mind you I referenced Montreal since I noticed your location, the same applies all across North America.

 

[Reverend Blair]

I strongly disagree, I think not.

Of the 16 to 18 year olds I meet, I find many to quite politically astute as well as involved in activities with political ramifications, such as the environment and foreign aid.

While many lack the sophistication of their university level counterparts, many are at least as sophisticated as the average party supporter you will find in political parties and far more sophisticated than you will run into on the street.

 

[cub1c]

It's great you visited high schools here.
But I have to remind you that most of the 16 and older have already left high school for the CEGEP.

I entered CEGEP at 16.

So you're point doesn't worth much.

 

[I think not]

Re: RE: Age vote to 16

I strongly disagree, I think not.

Of the 16 to 18 year olds I meet, I find many to quite politically astute as well as involved in activities with political ramifications, such as the environment and foreign aid.

While many lack the sophistication of their university level counterparts, many are at least as sophisticated as the average party supporter you will find in political parties and far more sophisticated than you will run into on the street.

I'm not denying there are 16 - 18 years olds very well informed and are thinkers, that isn't something you encounter often enough to justify voting at 16. At that age, hormones prevail, or has it been so long Rev you forgot :wink: