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Universal Sufferage a little to high?

Should they change the voting age? (The voting age is 18)

  • Total voters
    29
I wouldn't trust my peers to vote responsibly. They're crazy people. o_o

Aside from that, the 18-25 voting group votes least often (in Canada), and it's the seniors who vote most often. So lowering the voting age wouldn't make much of a difference.
 
At 18 you're typically out of high school and at least have a chance at having some knowledge of politics and such. No, dropping it would be disastrous.
 
Personally, when people ask me about politics I use the fact that I can't vote as an excuse to not have done my research. (It'll be a shame when that's no longer the case. I despise debates in which nobody really learns anything, and political ones seem to fall into this category 99% of the time.) By dint of this, I tend to count myself in with the "too immature to vote" majority of minors -- and, as many people have pointed out already, many of my friends are the same way, and all the ones that aren't are voting age already.

Then again, it seems to me like kids under voting age who honestly don't care enough to do their homework when it comes to politics won't go to the trouble to register and wait in line...

But then there are the ones who're misled because they only ever get exposed to one side of the fence, or whatever (that was my case also -- my parents are both fiercely neo-liberal -- before I decided that I wouldn't choose sides until I got my information from an impartial source), and they may be very adamant about their beliefs. But adults are surely like that, too; perhaps even more so than children -- sometimes it seems to me like blind partisan voting happens more often than not, at least in America.


...Regardless, though, this I agree with completely.
red1530 said:
However the only exception is to members of the military who join at seventeen. They should be able to vote right away because of their willingness to defend the country.
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I think it should stay at eighteen.
Like someone said earlier, many people become mature at sixteen, but most don't. 18 is the age for everyone.

Also, even people who mature completely at 16 can wait for a while to get used to their new state of maturity.
Even a lot of people over 18 does not have the basic idea about politics, so this really is just a generalized age.
But yeah, I do wish there was a minimum knowledge test like "why are you going to vote?". Depending on the quality of the answer, people would be allowed to vote, or not. But a lot of people, like me, aren't even interested on this subject much.
 
I think everyone should have to get themselves a voting license! When they really know enough about different parties and the political system, they can start deciding for themselves. If they are just going to vote for the one who looks best or seems to have the most money or some other stupid reason like those, they should never get the right to it! :laugh: Obviously, I'm kidding, because something like that would never be accepted.

I find it weird, though, that mentally handicapped people can vote when they legally reach the age of 18, no matter what their psychological age is. If their cognition is on the level of a ten-year-old, should they be allowed to vote or would not letting them do so be discriminating?

Democracy is hard.

Anyway, if something should be done to the voting age, it should be raised to 20 or something. In Japan, it's 20. In Finland, it used to be 21 a long time ago. I think it's irresponsible to let 16-year-olds even drive... Here in Finland, we can drive only after we turn 18, so my friends are getting licenses now. Frankly, I'm terrified to know they're going to be driving soon...
 
txteclipse said:
Good lord, 18 is often still too young from what I've seen. So definitely no.
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Yes, agreed with this.

But I also see it in two ways; why aren't the mature minors able to vote? I mean, one of the punishments in court is being legally tried as an adult. So why can't be legally treated as an adult if we demonstrate the responsibility and maturity?

But whatever. The voting system works well enough, doesn't it?
 
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