Should 16-year-olds help choose leaders?
Discussion question | This is for ages 10 to 13
In some countries, 16- and 17-year-olds are allowed to vote in elections. Supporters say this gives young people a voice in decisions that affect their future.
How might elections improve if all 16 and 17-year-olds could vote?
Tell us what you think:
You might want to structure your answer like this:
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would [improve / not improve] elections because [your reason]. One reason for my view is [an example or explanation].
Make sure you read the comments from other Topical Talkers to see whether you agree or disagree with them.
Comments (662)
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because peolpe at this age don't really know about elections. One reason for my view is that people at this age should be thinking in more imoportant things like the studies than vote for elections. But I also think allowing all 16 and 17-years-old to vote would improve elections because there will be more votes and there could be a chance that another party could win (if people vote another party insted of this one that we have).
I disagree because 16-17 years can improve elections resons being that is they already know about voting and the procedures for electing a public office. I know in one of the rules for voting you have to be 18 before voting an elective post but we need to consider those who are sufficient enough to vote . These days around 16-17 years can even provide their own money without their parents so if they can do that they should be able to vote.
I agree with you because most people that are 16 or 17 years old do make money 💵 without their parents and they would maybe start learning about voting ages and why the ages don’t need to be so high like its just crazy if they can make money without their parents then can’t vote.
I agree with you because 16 and 17 year olds that work, save, and make money is showing that there responsible enough to vote and the other reason why I agree is because the difference between A 16 maturity isn't that much different from a 18 year old maturity because no own is fully mature till there about 25 year's maturity.
I agree with you since 16-17 year old kid are not mature enough👍
I disagree because they are not mauture enough and don't listen and anoying everyone and they will be mad and a sad.
I agree because... your one of my freinds and they wiil be scared,angered and upset,we don't need that, do we ?
I see your point, as many 16 or 17-year-olds do earn money independently. It’s interesting to consider why voting ages are so high, especially when they can earn money without parental support.
I disagree because i think differntly
Fair enough, what are your thoughts on whether 16-year-olds should help choose our leaders?
I don’t think they should, considering that they don’t have a strong oversight of the political parties and their missions
I feel as if this is not entirely true; many people at a young age are invested in politics and political parties. I would count myself as one of them. I think singling out a whole age group isn't the best way to find an answer, since people of all ages aren't always informed about voting. Especially as part of the Canadian education system, here we learn about politics and different parties, so I believe that 16-year-olds should be able to vote, or they are not the only ones that can seem "uneducated" in the voting system.
This is really interesting. Do you feel that the education system in Canada finds a balanced approach to informing students about politics and the different parties - so that they can make unbiased decisions? If so, how do they achieve that?
I feel as if, by making sure we have unbiased information, our teacher makes sure to have their own opinions not included in our lessons and discussions. We sometimes focus on the good in news stories, like how people will come together in tough times and how it can make communities stronger. In our current unit, we are learning about dictatorships and different types of government. During these class discussions, our teacher chooses to use countries and group no one is close to, this make sure everyone is welcome and happy, along with not being pressured about political groups. We also learn about the political partys here in Canada, and when we do, they all get the same amount of respect. This is due to the teacher making sure everyone feels safe about policies and how they are involved in our learning process. Thank you, ineffable_groundhog
I'm not sure about this. The reason that people think that 16-year-olds shouldn't vote is because they have seen some of them act immaturely.
This also means that if 16-year-olds are allowed to vote, the immature ones will also be able to vote. Then they will make the wrong choice and jeopardize their country's future.
Do you think that there is a way around this problem?
Thank you for your comment. I'm gonna clear some things up here. One, I don't think that there is a big enough majority or immulite 16 year olds voting. Again, I believe that for them to vote, there should be political education teaching them unbiased ways to vote smartly ( not in the way of parties, but teaching them not to get manipulated). IF you are thinking about 16-year-olds jeopardizing your/everyones countries futures, the same thing goes with older generations too, since they can get manipulated and told false information just to vote one way. There isn't a way around this problem since there will always be people who are immature, but making sure younger voters are educated will help. Thank you
I disagree because not all 16 year old`s don`t care about politics i have an 16 year old brother who loves to watch the new and is always curious about politics . I think this would make them more indapendent and know they have a say and dont have to hold it in.
I think that 16 and 17 year olds should not be able to vote because, they won’t think much of it and might not make that good of decisions because they are not as experience. I think that 18 year olds are allowed to vote because they would have finished school and will be a bit more intelligent, some learnt more about voting and how to know who to vote for, so then they will put more thought into it and make a better decision.
I think 16 years old are too young to vote,but I now think the average age to vote is 18 because they will be able to make a good choice because their are more experienced.I also think that shouldn't vote because 18 years old are a bit more intelligent because they would have finished school so they would be best if you want to choose the right and appropriate leader so there for I now don't think 16 year old should vote.
I agree because at the age of 16 and 17 you should be able to vote as you are aware of your actions. It can also help the younger people to figure out what they should do when they are older. They are old enough to watch the news and know what is happening around them, therefore they can have their own opinion to vote. 16 and 17 year olds should also know that their choices matter as well and therefore should be allowed to vote.
I disagree because it's unfair to the younger people that's wants to vote and only 16 and 17 can only vote 15 and younger people wants to vote and make the right choices and aware of their actions. people who are 16 and 17 can be silly and vote the wrong thing and think that's funny. In my opinion younger people should be able to vote.
I'm not sure about this because what if they turn away from studies and they worry about voting. This could ruin their life and job because they wont be learning to get a degree .You could be any age to watch the news that dose not mean you can vote at any age , dose it ?
I disagree because I don't think at the age of 16 or 17 you should be allowed to vote because they could be silly and just forget to vote or say something inappropriate.Though 16 or 17 years old could bring something to someone's mind,I still think they are too young to vote because I don't think they will make the right choice because they are not old enough to vote.You have convinced me that some 16/17 years old can make the right decision but I still just do think it is a good idea to put voting in the hands of a young person because it would be too much pressure for them and they could get confused and need some help.I think 18 is the age of maturity to vote.
I agree because everyone thinks in their own way and might know another thing or two that others don't know about which could help with voting, also the fact that 16-17 years can make their own job without getting fired like the stereotypical 16-17 year which is seen as being rebellious and angry while other 16-17 years can be the complete opposite of that.
I agree with you ,16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to choose leaders for themselves. Doing this enhances their knowledge about presidential campaigns and it also gives them the chance to have a say on how to vote. Most 16 and 17-year-olds are excluded from the right to choose and make decisions on their own because they are perceived to be too young and dont know anything about voting and choosing leaders but there are some that know what they want, and who they want to make decisions on their behalf, but excluding them from elections and voting is shutting them up and not letting them express themselves. But as stated ealier everyone has their own perspective or point of view on how they see things.
I think allowing 16 and 17 years would not improve elections because people at this age do not really know much about elections. At this age they should be thinking about exploring and pursuing their education, studies, health and many more than to vote for election. Moreover, the appropriate age for one to be considered an adult is when they are 18 years and even at that, they still make mistakes.
Thank you
I agree with the fact that 16 yr olds should be focused on education and stuff but I disagree that 16 yr olds shouldn't be able to vote because young adults should have a voice in what happens around them
I also agree with you because, no matter what age you are, you are directly affected by the decisions of the leader of your country, so why should I not be allowed to choose who leads me. Voting is my fundamental human right, so why should age be a barrier. 16-17 year olds are not just relevant for nuissance, we can also contribute to not just choosing leaders, but also be part of decision making process,because we are young, current and familiar with things that are relevant to us.
I disagree with you because most times being able to keep a job does not translate to having a mind of your own. I might be made to work because I don't have a choice. It does not mean I can be able to make informed decisions. Most of these teenagers are still monitored and told what to do and what not to do
Your point around making informed decisions is an important one. Do you think schools, parents and the politicians themselves should be doing more to include younger people in the election process and what are some of the ways they could do this?
I agree because...everyone has their own ideas it might be better than the others.Everybody should have a chance on what to do and why. This will encourage young voters to vote or give out what they know about voting.16 and 17 year olds they might know about presidential campaigns they are suposed to have the rights vote.
I agree because... they are still young to know the problem of the nation and also too know the real deal about voting
because when i was younger i taught voting was just about picking a leader and go until i found out the whole state is under his control then i taught to my self and said that we cant just give the hole state to any random person so i think 16 and 17 shouldnt vote
I strongly disagree with your opinion. You said these days 16-17 years old could provide their own money but you only see some part of the 16 and 17 year old which can earn their own money.There are still a lot of 16 and 17 year old who are still dependent on their parents and are still on their education. So, they can't be ready to vote. But, you're not wrong saying that 16 and 17 year olds could earn their own money. Some of them did own their own money by becoming an influencer or maybe working but they're just a small part of the 16-17 year olds society.
I agree because younger people deserve to have a chance to improve the elections.Because they are 16/17 years old, I think they could have a job which would then make them responsible and reliable to make the right/good choice.
its true because their to young to know who to vote for they may just take it as a child play
hello everyone I think 16year old and beyond can vote for whoever they want to during elections because it would make them feel like they are part of their country and it can also make them know that they also have a say in their country.
I agree because... younger people would probably know what their doing and older people probably wouldn’t of known how to vote anymore
can you explain why you believe younger people would know what they're doing?
I disagree with your comment. Are you saying the older people would suddenly lose their memory and cannot remember how to vote? In my country Nigeria, most people that come out to vote are the older people because they have political awareness. The younger people of voting age do not care about who leads them talk less of children less than 18 years.
They won't actually, but they will be easily bought by politicians with enticements of food and house hold materials.
Here in Nigeria it's only during election time that the masses enjoy because both the opposition and the ruling come community by community to canvass for votes thereby buying people's votes especially old men and women. do you understand it now ? Thanks
In my opinion, i think that allowing 16 and 17 year old's would help improve elections because the government can hear everyone's point of view, also schools do teach young people about elections more, meaning young people know more about it and have the good understanding about elections and the government. Although some 16 and 17 year old's may not take it seriously and might vote someone that wont improve a county just for a laugh, this can also happen with ages older than 17 and 18 meaning that age does not matter and it more depends on the person who votes. For my final reason i think that 16 and 17 year old's should have a say in elections because of how most young people have came to an understanding and more interested about the government and elections and feel a want to vote.
I agree with you because, allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote will be a very creative and innovative way to improve the way elections and choosing leaders go because, we will hear different points of view that may help in improving elections, even though some 16 and 17-year-olds do not have knowledge or do not know anything about elections, they will be educated about elections at any educational center. "We have to give young people a chance to talk about what they feel about choosing leaders''. One reason that is similar to yours content_saxophone is if young people are allowed to have a say in politics, because, they have never voted before, they will be willing to have knowledge politics and how they run and maybe choose good leaders that would lead the in the right way.
I agree with your comment totally and this is why . 16 and 17 year olds of these age tend to form their aspirations and world view early enough compared to older voters. For a lot of them this aspiration are government inclined and know a little or a lot about global politics. So, having a chance to vote, is an opportunity to allow these aspirations count, through whom they vote.
I agree with your statement, younger people should have a say in their country, because it is unfair if only adults can speak up in their country. So, 16 and 17 year old should be allowed to vote to give the younger generation a voice in their country. wisdom is not a product of one's age but a personal decision. So, people of lower ages are wise enough to choose who should lead them.
I agree because there still young and they might think election is just about pick a leader,
not knowing that its about pick someone that will lead your country tomorrow .
[so 18 years old teens should still vote and not16 and17]
I agree because... they would just vote for someone random which could not help the country but they would not know and there are a lot of 16 and 17 year olds
I agree because allowing 16 and 17 year olds can improve voting scores but it could be a distraction in learning in other words studies and people at this age don't really know a lot about voting because they are just teenagers looking to try and help the world when they don't know what they are trying to help the country about, and of course not all teenagers are like this some are resposible. and maybe some of the 16 and 17 year olds are very mature for their age and some are very silly and child-ish which I think should not be voting, all I'm saying s you should be at least 18, 19 or 20 to vote.
I disagree with you, because I believe that 16 and 17 years should be able to express their opinions and have a say in politics. This affects their future, and with no doubt they must have a say on their future. Also, I argue that 16 years old are mature enough to make serious decisions
I agree because not every 16-17 year old will know the responsible way to vote or what's best for the animals people and environment which could end up badly
I agree because... 16 and 17 year olds are not experienced enough. Also they are legally not adults
I agree because I think they could be minipulated and they should worry more about studies than votes
I agree with you because 16 and 17 year-old can be easily manipulated by social media and other people.
They might also think that something is really cool when it is actually really dangerous and they might want to do it but they are not thinking through all of the horrid consequences that will happen. Doing this, they can also get seriously injured and might need to go to the hospital. They also don't have the right mind set and they can make immature decisions. Some may argue that they can be positively influenced by other people. However, I still believe that it would affect their daily lives.
I agree because... firstly,16 year olds can easily be manipulated by the wrong people and they can make bad disitions which help those bad people which can make the contoury weaker and if a war brakes out by a small conoury [Cuba] against a bigger contoury[U.S.A] the smaller contoury will need to concor other small contouryies to grow its army and we will be first.
I agree because... they are not yet of age and do not have experience
Dear prodigious_hedgehog I agree with your idea they should focus more on studies to build their future and if they were abel to vote their parents might disagree and force or threaten them to leave the house unless they choose to vote what their parents want
I actually don't share your opinion. People in this ages can be actually very interested in politics and may even have something interesting to say. I personally believe that politics can be very interesting depending how you see it. But I actually agree with you in something: such young people would change our actual party. 16 and 17 years old people are declined into an only party, acording to my experience. That's why I believe that 16 and 17 years old should not participate in choosing a leader.
I agree too with you, however (to sum up this whole conversation, I think having 16-17 year old voting optional to balance the more focused, interested people and the 'I don't know' or I don't care type of people in this age group. It also gives them a bit more time to find out more about the voting system in general
I actually agree to an extent. A large amount of teens have no idea about politics, but we do have to take the internet into consideration. Especially Tiktok, which provides a wide range of information to the people it caters to (which is the youth of this age range), makes us learn more things about the world whether we want to or not. I believe, however, with some help from different means – school, family, government etc. – can teach people our age about the status quo in a non-harmful, informative way, because it is really important we have an opinion these days.
Do you think there's any risks with finding information out on TikTok?
I disagree because letting 16 and 17-year-olds vote wouldn’t only involve them in our society but also give the younger generation a voice. It would also let them give their opinion in politics give them a say in changes that in close future are going to affect them. You also said that they should be thinking about more important things but voting is the most important thing in democracy. Voting gives you a say in issues that affect you it. Not voting lets other people choose who represents you. Letting younger people vote would also improve the elections because then more opinions are represented as more people get to vote.
I understand your point, but many 16 to 17 year olds actually learn about elections and the government in school or because they are interested in politics. They are also often affected by decisions about education and the future, that’s why they should get involved more in politics. Also, allowing them to vote could be good, because so the interests of the younger generation could be represented in politics, especially in topics that affect the educational system.
In my opinion, it benefits both sides. The 16-17 year olds can get the real experience of voting like adults and improve their future (quality of) life but also the political parties could benefit from this due to there being an influx of voters which could lead to more voters for both big and smaller parties. However I can agree that some of these young people shouldn't vote, as they aren't educated enough or don't take the election serious.
I'm allowing tsunami and I think we shouldn't allow all 16-17 years old to vote because they don't have the necessary mental maturity to tink about theis thigs. It is true that they are near the full age, but in my opinion we should not let this important decisions to people who will vote to which they want, without before looing fro the good and bad things that team gives the country. As I have said before in my argument I think this "childs" musn't vote because it's better for the country and if we let them vote, please, we have tothink if this people would vote with their critical thinking and not because they want.
Some people argue that 16 -17-year-olds shouldn't vote because they're 'not mature enough', but I think that's an outdated stereotype. Many teenagers already make serious decisions about exams, careers, apprenticeships and even part time jobs. If society trust them with those responsibilities ,then trusting them with a vote makes sense. Plus giving young people a voice could push politician to take youth issues seriously instead of treating them as an afterthought Elections should represent everyone who is affected -and young people definitely are .A final point is that lowering the voting age could actually improve the quality of political debate. When young join the conversation they bring new, fresh ideas, challenge outdated assumptions and force adults to think beyond the same old arguments. politicians would have to explain their plans more clearly and honestly, knowing that young voters wont just accept vague promises. in that way, including 16-17 year olds doesn't just add more voters -it raises the standard of the whole election.
I disagree that they should lower the age to 16 beacuse they are still in secondary and arent mature enough. I just think that they should keep it to 18
are there any other reasons other than maturity that make you think the voting age should remain at 18?
i disagree because even though your young you can still understand politics and who should have the right and its fair to others because if 16 year olds came into the voting then 1.5 million who be able to vote and to be open with their vote to too feel proud that they done thing they never do until 18 and the excitement will build up more and it would maturity because they have done their exam they understand it and they could be in collage so i disagree
I think people who are under the age of 18 should be able to vote in the elections, this is because there are different opinions all over the world and just a simple opinion with a good reasoning can change someone poin of view, this "someone" can perfectly be a teen who understands everything without any difficulty or is good in the topic. Also I dont think there is much difference between a 17 year old boy and an 18 year old boy, the thing is they are interested in the topic and aren´t forced and have the freedom choosing whatever if they´re confortable with their opnion and not because they had been influenced by friends or family who thinks otherwise. On the other hand I also think that teens under the age of 16 should not be allowed to vote because they have a different mindset from most adults and normally depend a lot on their parents,and, in this case I think it would be better to wait some time till they developed their own ideas.
Hi! :3 (I'm 10 btw)
I also believe 16+ people should be able to vote in the elections. The opinions of a slightly younger audience do matter and I suppose your opinion about the difference between a 16/17 year old and an 18 year old girl/boy. They both may have valuable opinions about voting and who would be right or wrong for a specific position. I don't think there's any issue with a 16-17 year old voting as long as they understand what they're doing. No matter the age, your EDUCATED opinion matters and I'm sure the extra 1.5 billion voters will make a significant difference in the overall voting outcome. However, so 16+ people who just pick anyone because they don't understand or they just want to be funny should not be allowed to vote. They should have to wait until they are 18 and mature enough and biased enough to have a REAL opinion on voting so the ballets aren't incorrect.
I agree because... You are so right when you said "No matter the age,your ebucated opinion matters."and that just a very strong to me (I'm 10 too)
I disagree because a 18 year old student and a 17 year old student don't have the same class of mentality this is because a 18 year old student is more experienced than a 17 year old student although it is just a one year gap and this i give with reasons
1. during the review it was mentioned that emotion are one of those that influences other decisions and as we all know a 18 years is more self controlled than a 17 years
2.and also a 17 years can also be highly influenced by the parent decision because they are not yet matured to make theirs
so I do not think bringing the voting age down to 16 or 17 will improve the economy
I partly agree with your opinion. I think it is true that there is not a big difference between a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, and many teenagers are interested in politics and able to think critically. However, I also believe that voting is a big responsibility, and not all young people are independent from their parents’ opinions so they can be influence. For this reason, I think the voting age should stay at 18, although I understand why some people believe it could be lowered to 16 if young people are well informed about politics
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because young people need to have the same responsabilities as adults,also I think that if young people are obligated to follow the law they can also vote.One reason for my view is that 16 year old people even younger speak a lot about the votes but is not fear that they can talk and no do or change nothing.Also if a 16 year old person can leave school or even in some places start to work why they will not could vote.Vote is not only for the political elections of your city or country but is also vote for the representant of your community,the president of your flat,the head teacher of your school. Young people are now very informed abot all those things because of school,social media, and because of things they learn in the street,school or in it's houses.
I agree because also 16 year olds can drive and with meeting some obligations can even pay taxes and in the US alone that'll add around 8.87 million new voters which can not only open up wider perspectives but also give multiple people brand new voices so more people get their opinions shared and could actually make a difference in places that struggle with individuals not voting
In my opinion allowing all 16 and 17-years-olds to vote can improve elections , because like this older people have the perspective and the thinking of young people and teenagers who care about their future. However this has some inconviniences, for example a teenager who has been raised by his family with very strict ideals and who is closed-minded will affect the elections, in my opinion, in a bad way. On the contrary, teenagers who had been thought by his parents to be open-minded and to listen and respect the ideas, opinion and believes of other people will help the politicians to have a better connection with young people and will also help them seeing better what is the future of their country.
I agree because with you allowing 16 to 17 year-olds to vote can help improve elections because they can have different opinions on how they want their future to be. This will enable politicians to understand the views of the young generation and will make policies to meet their needs. Although some young people may have certain views, most are open minded and well informed, and it would be an amazing contribution to democracy.
I think never a 16 year old shuould have the right vote.
In my opinion it will not improve the elections ,the main reason is because they have not lived so much and learned about politics as they need to,also in the social media there are a lot of trends that influence the politic thought and it can make them vote someones that they don't really know if they agree with his ideas.
The 16 year old are also people so influenceable and maybe with his friends,family,or the politician,with the minimum words can make them vote to someone which can make their live harder.
In some ocations there are exceptions of 16 year old guys wich can have there thinking really well developed and his ideas really clear,but as we don't know a way to identify them we must wait until a older age to make sure that mostly everyone has had the neceary time to think about his political ideas.
So as a conclusion I think that the 16 year old peple should not have the right to vote because, they don't have the expirience of live yet so developed, thy had't had the necesary time to think about their ideology and it is impotan to let them time to have the legal age so they have more time to decide,we need to know that a simple vote can change a whole country.
Allowing all teenagers from 16-17 years old to vote may have several consequences during elections of a country. The number of people of theese ages can be very high and results would change completly.
Also, social media, could influence many young people which could cause them to make a wrong decision. This could cause also problems between youths because, as they are less mature, fights because of different political opinions may have become common between 16 and/or 17 years old.
Leaders of different political parties would take an advantage from this, usually, teens are easier to manipulate by social media or peer pressure which can change completly their way of thinking and, of course, their vote.
In conclusion I think goverments should not let people from theese ages vote becasue they are not mature enough to make this decison without being conditionated by external agents such as the mentioned before.
Hi! I'm ingenious currant, and I'm here to share my opinion about this topic. From my point of view, 16-year-olds should not have the right to vote. Some times, young people take decisions by what they hear or watch in social media, instead of reading news, arcticles or reliable sources of information. This can be a problem for society and mostly for our future, if we continue to be easily influenced. In Spain, people under 18 can not vote, this is because they are not considered mature enough to take that important decision, but who knows if this rule would change in the future?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would neither improve nor worsen elections beacuse some young people would be highly influenced by their parents and vote whatever they vote, but some young peole have strong opinions alredy formed and would vote to whoever they feel like.
I feel like allowing younger people to vote could help them form their own opinion sooner and make them feel heard, because they are taking part in an important decision for their country and their vote is as valid as the rest. This could help with the feeling teenagers have that adults think their opinion doesn't count or they are just kids without a voice.
But also some kids may be forced to vote for someone they dont want to just because their parents support them, and that is a way of manipulating someone, because some parents could tell their teenagers that they have to vote for the one they tell them to as they are just kids without an opinion formed.
Also some kids just haven't matured enough to vote or to choose a decent leader, teenagers could vote for someone just for one specific quality they like about them or their program without valorating the other pros and the cons.
In conclusion I think some kids could be robbed of their freedom of expression but others could help choose a great leader for their country.
That's an interesting point, I like how you outline the pros and cons. Given the potential risks and advantages, what is your overall opinion: should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote?
It depends if they know what the political parties they voted for will do progressing in the future
I agree with you because some 16-17 years old people already know the right person to vote for but i think allowing 16-17 years old people to vote will help
I agree because...
16-17 years old know the right president and they monitor each president to see which one is wiser and will make our lives better. Because, 16-17 years old are smart so they might make the right decision or not but they should have the privileges' to vote freely and they should be encouraged by the people around them.
I agree with what you have said and in additional to what you said i think that allowing teenagers within the range 16 to 17 would improve election. How? one may ask, it will improve election by providing more citizens to vote for specific leaders, also it can worsen the situation because they don't really know mush about elections in fact some teenagers hardly listen to news, they just spend most of their time doing some certain things with their devices like going to social media but not to listen to news. i think the age 18 is enough for citizens to begin to cast their votes.
I agree because if 16-17 years old people are allowed to vote it will lead to the betterment of the nation. But some parents would want their children to vote for who so ever they are voting for weather the wrong or right person. Parents should allow their children to vote for their choice of person.
I don't think that your statement is completly accurate. A great part of teenagers are equally or even more influenced by social media than by their parents that's why lowering the voting age, anyways, it is true that if voiting age is reduced, leaders would take into account opinions from the youth. On the other hand, in social media some voices are much more highlighted than others, and... what can this mean? What is a posssible consequence for this? Most of 16-17 years old are easy to manipulate and can change their mind very easily, as a matter of fact, many teenagers are already manipulated by content creators in social media about political, religious and social ideas, that's why they can't vote at theese young ages, most of them are not mature enough to have a strong opinion about a topic.
I think that's the reason why teens should not vote although i agree with some parts of your comment i still think that this shouldn't be allowed
I really agree with your opinion. Although I cannot be certain that all students are mature enough to choose a good leader, I strongly agree with the idea that denying students the opportunity to vote is similar to taking away their freedom. However, I also believe that giving voting rights to students who are no yet fully mature could be problematic.
These days, on social media, politicians are often turned into popular memes for entertainment. I find it difficult to view this trend positively. My concern is that if students are given the right to vote, they may choose leaders based on personal amusement rather than considering what is best for the country, which could potentially disrupt the government. For these reason, I am not fully convinced that such phenomena will lead to a better future.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Your insightful comments have given me more time to think.
Have a great day!!
Yes. Overall I think they should be allowed to vote yes, there are influences everywhere, from their parents to social media, and yes you did say some kids haven't matured enough to make such a decision, yes, but its a risk that's worth taking, cause the decisions they make will dictate their adult lives directly, the policies that the leader makes with affect the future of their life, including ares like work, and housing, they should be allowed to make a difference in how their adult lives start.
I disagree with you completely that some 16/17 years should not be allowed to vote because are not matured, some 16 year-old should vote because they have high level of political consciousness more that some adults, hence should not be denied the right. They may have acquired such knowledge through exposure in social media since most young people are active in social media. The could have even gotten the knowledge in college History or Political Science classes. Another reason is that it can make the other candidate win instead of the other and sometimes 16 and 17 year-olds agree on the same thing this is why I disagree with you.
Let's look at it the other way round, are there adults who are not matured socially and politically? Absolutely! And still they are required to vote, so why should a 16/17 year-old be denied the right to vote? I think we should stop debating about this and just allow them to go ahead and vote.
I agree with you too, because these teenagers have a well developed brain due to their exposure to technology and internet which makes them aware of what is lacking in their country. There is a believe that 16 and 17 year old can have their decision influenced, but now than ever before, teenagers are more adamant to their opnions rather than what they are told to do, once they make up their mind on something it is difficult to change their mind they can be goal oriented too though, no matter their characters or behaviour.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote wouldn't improve the elections because of their opinion. most of the times their opinion is easy to manipule and, most of them would use the social media and the influencers to decide which politician to vote. Another of the reason to young people not to vote would be that they are in the adolescence, which the brain is not alredy well-developed so they would have different ideas than when they are older than 18 years old and some times they would have bad-reasoned oppinions. I think that one of the main things to allow people voting would be to making the a mental health test, a madurance test, a psychology test with the most professionals psychologists because that test would decide if you are allowed to vote or not. I also think this might be done every 2 years to prove your mental heath, after all these things, for voting being less thn 18 years old you may pass de madurance test, if not you may wait until the legal common age. Some of the most famous cases would be the ones in Belgium, Germany and Malta, which they can vote in the last european elections.
I agree to your motion pioneering library because 16 and 17-year-olds are not even suppose to be thinking of voting. We teenagers are suppose to be thinking on how to improve in our daily lives for instance improving in our academics and our moral values should be our priority and not voting. It is best if the madurance test is been approved before 16 yrs old can be able to vote during elections. i strongly agree with you pioneering library that 16 yrs old voting wouldn't improve the elections.
I disagree.
Voting should be allowed to be done form the age of 16, because in my own view of point it helps in better and good decision making which will enhance their mind more about the structure of politics, also allows them to express what the feel should be done in country and in their own view of point who should lead them as a leader, we can not just keep on waiting until we are older before we are able to vote or make decision, everyone has a say to anything and it should be heard (FREEDOM OF SPEECH). It should be done at the very start, so that it can build the structure of the mind more and more to be able to get prepare and get ready for the future.
Starting early helps also in the developing of the country with great advantage to it, which make and raise good and responsible leaders for future purposes and in enhancing the government.
I agree with you strongly but I will like to add some more ideas .If 16 and 17 year old's can be allowed to vote they can teach the younger ones and it can change the economy. They can become the leaders of tomorrow, but some 16 year old's and 17 year old's may know a lot about AI due to search engines and web browsers. But for the older voters the outcome may change because of the lack of AI during their time so this may lead to the older voter not make choices well thank you
Hello everybody! My name is Illuminated Owl and I am back into the Topical Talk Festival! As I can see, the Economist has surprised me with this new theme because I never thought about the perfect age for voting before.
In my country, the minimum age to vote for a president is at 18 years old (also when we are allowed to drive a car, drink alcohol and when we take the exams for studying in the University), but not 16 or 17. Well, there is not a very big age gap between 16 or 17, but I think that it does not matter only this but also the way you act as an adult. At 16 years old, you are a teen ager; you are not so responsible, and probably prefer hanging out with your friends more than thinking about voting for the next president in your country. The same happens when you are 17. However, at the age of 18, you are trained to be seasoned, to take your own decissions towards the future, to study hard and to be ready for the time to come, basically, you are an adult! But, as I have said before, you are not going to be worried only about the person you will vote and that will control your country, but also about your exams to take your dreamt career, always depending in the system of your country.
Voting for the president that will govern in your area is a very important decission because things can change dramatically for the people living there, for this reason, I think that, the perfect age for voting, must be one in which young people is completelly mature, but also an age in which the youth is not so pushed by other very important events that will occur in their lives.
Hi! I´m fun_climate and i´m here to share with you my opinion of this interesting question. Should 16-years-old help choose leaders? In my opinion not all this people could have the right of voting.Most of young people have the desire of vpting but don´t know much of the essential information. I would organize an exam for this people of several questions which include what each political party represents and offers. If the results of this exams are exelent i would led him/her the privilage of voting. Although some 16-year-old people don´t have idea of what political party offers , there are also some adults who also don´t know what they´re offering. Some poeple vote some political parties following other people´s thoughts. First, you need to know perfectly what each of them offer, and then, vote.
Hi,👋 I am an open-minded Racccoon . (I am 16 years old) . I think that if all 16 to 17 year olds were allowed to vote, then elections could improve in several important ways. For example: education, employment, technology, many other decisions are directly affected by young people. If young people were given the right to vote, then politicians would pay more attention to them. The real reason why young people do not vote is that they are at an age limit. Their brains are not yet well developed, so sometimes young people can make wrong decisions. Another reason is that at 16 to 17 years old, you are a teenager. At this age, you are not so responsible. At this age, young people have not thought about whether they are interested in voting or whether they want to vote. At this age, they may have wandering thoughts in their minds, but politics or voting starts from the age of 18. They are trained to be prepared for the future, mainly because , they are adults. So I think that voting should be allowed from the age of 18 . Thank you everyone . 🤝👍🇧🇩
I agree and your comment sounds very professional. :)
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it would include people who are already affected by the choices adults make. Many 16-year-olds are still in school and are learning about politics and the news, so they actually know what is going on. For example, if the government changes rules about exams, buses, or climate change, young people have to live with those decisions for a long time, but right now they don’t get a say. This can make elections feel unfair to younger people.
Some people say teenagers are too young to vote, and I understand why they might think that. However, adults can also make mistakes when voting, so being older does not always mean you make better choices. If young people start voting earlier, they can learn how elections work and get better at making decisions over time.
Also, imagine a school council where only Year 11 students are allowed to vote, even though younger students still have to follow the rules. That would feel unfair, because everyone is affected, not just the oldest students. Elections are similar because when buses get more expensive or schools lose money, 16-year-olds notice it straight away even if they can’t vote about it. This links to my main idea because if young people are trusted to have part-time jobs, pay taxes, and study serious subjects, it makes sense to trust them with a vote too.
Overall, I think voting at 16 could make democracy better by including more people and helping young people see voting as normal and important.
I desagree because I think we need to leave the important decisions (also about school, exams or buses) to the adults. I know they are affected directly but this type of decisions I think need to be for adults. Adults also can make bad choices but it is better to wait to the limit age for voting.
what might influence adults to make "bad choices"? Can you give an example of such a choice?
Hello! In my opinion there are not called ''bad choices''. Every person has a different way of thinking and different necesities so each one vote to the political party which offer him what he is looking for. So for example, I have a different political opinion than my friend does and i respect his opinion. There is no problem. An example leaving pilitics is that for example i am from Real Madrid football team but my father is from Barcelona football team (team enemies). We have different oppinions for each team. For us, there are not ''bad choices'', there are different ways of thinking.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would definitely improve elections because it is young people who are going to be affected the most by the decisions made by governments today. Issues such as climate change are going to have a huge impact on peoples lives in the future, with global warming causing crop failings, fires and floods. It is young people and children who are going to be affected the most by this, our futures that are at stake, yet we don't have any power over the governments decisions. This is not fair. Which governments we elect affects us possibly even more than it affects adults, so why don't we get a say? I actually think children as young as twelve should be allowed to vote, as by that age you are definitely old enough to form your own opinions, as proven by this festival.
I agree because... they also have a big part with any thing that involve their future
I agree because... they also have a big part with any thing that involve their future
yeah i agree because they have the right to plan their future
but the16 years old teens shouldn't vote
Nice point you made there noble turtle.
I would just like to contribute to what you said by saying that we as young people are the ones that are mostly affected with this bad leadership because if there is bad leadership there will be high increase in number of out of school children for example in my country we have the highest number of out of school children following the range from 10.5 million to 20 million children. Now we know these as a problem and if our voices are heard to the public there will be change in the country following that we are victims of these problems and we have brainstormed on what is causing the problem.
So I think that our outlook on things should be deliberated on and be taken into action.
I disagree with you because 16 and 17 year olds are not the apropriate age to vote for a group why I say this because teens do not have the experience or knowledge to vote for various groups all over the world. another reason is 16 and 17 years old might not understand the term and conditions to vote a group.
As your get older you learn , understand and able to make descion but at a young age we need to depend on our parents for guided decisions.
I disagree with you for several reasons...
Firstly, I think that letting 16- and 17-year-olds to vote wouldn't improve elections, as you said because voting in the elections is a serious topic which needs decisions after researching and thinking deeply. Young voters are easily influenced by social media and friends, which are very likely to provide wrong informations or stereotypes. And young people at 16 or 17 aren't still independent enough to take serious decisions and think of long-term consequences of a decision as their brain is not fully developed.
Another reason for my view is that people on social media are expressing their OWN opinions and thoughts, so following their thoughts wouldn't reflect young people's OWN interests, and their way of thinking about topics.
Some young people could also misunderstand some concepts, which would make all the ideas suggested depending on the wrong informations inaccurate.
In my views allowing a 16-17 year old to vote wouldn't improve the elections. In fact i think it would end in the worst case scenario possible. Of course most of them would vote correctly and responsibly, some of them would give the best opinion older people lack. But most of them would just vote for their own amusement. Lately people have been to focused on trends that comes and goes wich makes them able to vote for someone who's not the best choice.
Another reason why i don't think 16-17 year olds should vote is that at that age is that in some countries they arent allowed to drink, own a house or go to prison (excluding juvenile). How do we expect them to vote sensibly if they aren't allowed to do stuffs that adults are allowed to do. Its just unreasonable for the general population of 16-17 year olds to do.
I personally think that the right age to vote is when we are an adult mentally and we are mature enough to vote. And even if younger people are allowed to vote i think they should focuse on leadership over popularity.
For me, I think that voting at 16-17 won't improve nor adversely affect the elections, though it is still unnecessary as people in this age do not have the concerns that older people do have. As people whom are 16 to 17 mostly only worry about their own issues such as ; academics, financial issues and other problems that are facing them right now.
However, in onther perspective, even though it wouldn't improve elections, the voice of a 16-17 year old is prior for increasing the voting rate yet it won't affect us positively nor negatively, as people in this age mostly reckon about their own issues rather than economical ones.
To conclude, the voice of a 16 to 17 year old isn't very vital for voting results as most 16 to 17 year old don't have their concerns on elections , but rather their own issues . Yet their voting would affect variously as for the voting rate.
How do you think it affects elections?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve election because it gives young people a voice in decisions that affect their future.
One reason for my view is that issues like education and the environment are very important to teenagers. If they can vote, politicians may pay more attention to these issues. This could also help young people become responsible citizens earlier.
I strongly believe that allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections and make democracy more representative. I read the other comments and I found that their opinions are totally different from mine,so today I am going to explain my view point more . Young people are affected by political decisions such us climate change, education and future jobs because these issues are part of their future, so it is their right to vote in elections.
Another reason for my point of view is that teenagers today know alot of things or well informed. They are not too young and they learn about politics at school and also they follow news and discussions , which helps them understand different peopl's perspectives. This way , they can make smart choices not just emotional ones.
Finally, participating in elections helps young people feel that they have an important role in life . It makes them feel useful and confident and teaches them to think carefully before making any decisions. And that's it .
Thanks
I also believe 16+ people should be able to vote in the elections. The opinions of a slightly younger audience do matter and I suppose your opinion about the difference between a 16-17 year old and an 18 year old girl/boy isn't very significant. They both may have valuable opinions about voting and which person in the elections would be right or wrong for a specific position. I don't think there's any issue with a 16-17 year old voting as long as they understand what they're doing. No matter the age, your EDUCATED opinion matters and I'm sure the extra 1.5 billion voters will make a positive and `significant difference in the overall voting outcome. However, some 16+ people who just pick anyone because they don't understand or they just want to be funny should not be allowed to vote. They should have to wait until they are 18 mature, biased, and REAL opinion on who they're voting for so the votes aren't incorrect.
Thanks for sharing persuasive_radio. How would you decide which 16 to 17 year olds are mature enough to vote and which are not?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it gives young people a voice in decisions that affect their future. One reason for my view is that young people are often very passionate about issues like education and the environment. By voting, they can encourage leaders to think more about long-term goals rather than just immediate changes. This would make the election process more inclusive and forward-thinking.🤗
Thank you guys!!💗
I agree with you. I also think 16 and 17 year olds be allowed to vote as some of them are already mature for example in some families some of these 16 and 17 year olds are already bread winners that means they work and pay for food maybe because a loved parent is sick or passed away. Some 16 and 17 year olds are already married and have a family, they are able to deal with adult problems, i believe if they are old enough to run a household, they should be old enough to choose their leaders. During war situations we have heard of these age group wanting to enlist and even some getting enlisted, if they can make up their minds to do this, they should be considered matured enough to vote. I believe young people often have a strong sense of justice, what is fair or unfair, so if someone is right, their age should not matter so if 16 and 17 year olds understand how the government works, and pay taxes, should we ignore them just because they are not 18 year olds yet?
I think we should not.😶 BECAUSE as your point some mature 16-17 years are properly ready to vote....but usually that age mostly teenagers dont have the best thinking power specially when this is about this generation. (I am not hating any generation or something.... because I am from this generation too🙃) so I said, I think that mostly teenagers at this age are not mature but i think they should get a Chance too....🤗
I agree because it can make it more passionate and receiving when your vote has been accepted and could improve your mental mood at school and at home too.And also it can make you more happy.Thank you for reading my opinion :)
No problem.You gave a powerfull opinion i kinda like it. And yes that will make them more happy when their vote will be accepted 🤗
I think that allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because making them participate will increase their civic (things related to the city, community, citizenship and society) engagement. Their ages are involved in their communities through their parents and the school education consequently making them vote in elections will boost their performance. If the 16 and 17-year-old people voted in the election, there will be a positive long-term impact on them like being responsible and being an active citizen like to have a magnificent voting habit.
Did you know that most of the 16 and 17-year-old people are working and paying their own taxes so that they can be affected by the country laws so that they can vote in the elections to change their life or low their taxes or even increase their salary.
For example, in Egypt elections are not allowed for people under 18. This is actually extremely horrible because most of the teenagers under 18 are working and paying for their own rent so that they must have their decision in the elections.
However, in some countries, voting in elections is allowed for the 16 and 17-year-old people like Argentina lowered the voting age to 16 in 2012 and Scotland did that too in the Scottish parliament elections in 2015.
Imagine if you were in a school where only the oldest grades voted in the rules of the school. Will this be fair?
To conclude, giving the 16 and 17-year-old people the chance to vote in the elections will change their life to better and affect them positively.
Thanks for sharing quickwitted_knowledge! And well done for using sources and evidence to support your opinion.
Hi fellow topical talkers so I think that 16- and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote because in my opinion we are the future. We might be learners today but, in the future, we will become the leaders so I think that 16- and 17-year-olds will improve elections because young people know what they need most, which minister or president will solve more problems it is the 11th and 12th graders that need the most resources, schemes etc. So if young people vote it would have a really big impact on elections and they are old enough and mature to make their decisions but there is a dark side since they are pressured by exams sometimes they are forced by their parents or peers and even other elders to vote on specific people so yeah either way 16 to 17 year olds would have a big impact on the elections .
signing off : fair minded elephant
hi my name is willing crab and i want to talk about the problem above
to me i think it should stay 18 years before one vote because by then the person should able to think for himself
Hello willing_crab. Do you think a person can only think for themselves when they turn 18? Why might others disagree with your opinion?
If all 16- and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote, elections could improve in several important ways. Young people are directly affected by decisions about education, employment, climate change, technology, and more, so giving them the right to vote would ensure these issues get greater attention from politicians. It would also encourage teenagers to follow current affairs and develop a sense of responsibility as active citizens.
Still, the quality of these votes depends on how young people make decisions. Many teenagers naturally trust the opinions of parents, relatives, or friends. While guidance can help, it is risky. In many families, political beliefs are passed down through generations, so a young voter might support a party simply because their parents always have. If 16-year-olds vote without questioning inherited views, their participation may not reflect their own interests.
Elections would improve most if young voters were encouraged to research independently. Learning to compare policies, check facts, and consider different perspectives would help them avoid biased opinions. Schools could play a key role by teaching media literacy and critical thinking so first-time voters make informed choices rather than following social pressure.
In conclusion, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote could strengthen democracy by bringing fresh voices into politics. Yet this benefit will only be realized if young people think for themselves and base decisions on balanced information rather than just trusting others.
16 Yrs old citizens should not be allowed to vote because they might not have the experience of what is like to vote and that is the main reason some countries like mine don't want citizens below 18 to vote and i agree and support my nation.
Those who have the idea of how to vote can be easily influenced meaning some times they can't make their own decision. So don't think under 18 should vote
Thanks for sharing your views strong_molecule. Do you think a specific environment is needed to allow young people to vote safely? Or do you think no such environment exists?
I disagree with you i know they may not have the experience but learning is not above anybody even those 18 year old people learnt how to vote there is nobody that did not learn one thing or the other. Those 16-17 year old people can still learn and now finally know what voting looks like.
I think 🤔 that people at the age of 16 and 17 should be generally be focusing on passing their WAEC ,UTME ,JAMB not on choosing leaders.
Hello gregarious_pomegranate, thank you for sharing your ideas. What would you say to those who believe that 16 and 17 year olds can focus on exams and choose leaders at the same time?
I think allowing 16-17 year-olds to vote would not improve elections because they do not have they do not know the necessary mind set to think about those things.
Hello! I understand your point of view, but I don´t completely agree. In my opinion, allowing young people aged 16 and 17 to vote could indeed improve elections, since many of us are capable of understanding political issues, especially those that affect our future, such as climate change or education.
Currently, in schools we are taught about politics and how to form a critical opinion. We also debate various topics in order to understand different points of view. I believe that giving us the right to vote would encourage political awareness from an early age; in this way, we would be able to become responsible and engaged citizens.
I believe 16 year old should not participate in voting. it is not a matter of being under aged most 16 year old don't listen to the news and do not know what is going on in the society thereby the vote according to what people have told them or according to who their friends want them to vote for. As teenagers they don't really care about what is happening politically in their country , they only care about social media and celbrity news.
Another reason why i think 16 year old should not vote is because some of them cannot make decisions on their own sometimes they need the opinion of their friends sometime those friends may give them bad advice.
Lastly, some may vote for the wrong candidate because he or she may be from the same tribe with the candidate contesting for election so they won't care if the person would make good impact or not , they just care about their tribe securing the position.
In my own opinion I would say 16 year olds should not be allowed to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-yearolds to vote would not improve elections because, they will be lots of misconducts, bribery and sometimes formation of thugs to rig the election. One reason for my view is that in my country we have experienced lots of misconducted elections and sometimes peoples vote don't count due to the level of bribery and corruption. If they are to allow 16 and 17- year-olds to vote, I think it is not a very good idea. Adults should be the one to vote because they have that ability to make decisions especially in hard times.
I think allowing 16 and 17 to vote would improve election because it affect and allow them to have decision making . One reason
for my view is Tinubu is the president of Nigeria and he decision has affect the people of Nigeria
Example :
increase in fuel prices which affect many people life because of this people will not vote him again
I think that people at the age of 16 and below should not be given the chance to vote because they have no much experience in life and they should not take part in Voting, here in Nigeria, the voting age is 25 and I think that is good, so that when they are voting they will vote with a 25 year old matured mind filled with experiences
Also ,people at sixteen tend to get influenced a lot by social media influencers, which may provide them with wrong informations and they might end up voting the wrong leader, also, teenagers can be bought with money and can be easily bribed, making them to make wrong choices as voting is by quantity of voting cards not quality of people voting
I think allowing all 16-17 years old to vote would improve because i believe that young youths brings fresh ideas and innovating solutions to problems.
Leadership is an important aspect of any organization that brings growth, development, progress and unity. some people might believe that older people should be the ones' leading because they must voting have passed through so many experience in life, and that 16 years old would not be able to make mature decisions.
In conclusion, i agree to the fact that 16-17 year old should be granted permission to voting because:
1) I believe that our current 16 years old learns about civic and security education as a subject/topic so they must have some knowledge about the rules of voting and others.
2) it will encourage long life voting
3)they should also have right to talk about what affects their lives and future
Thank you for your comment. We received this same wording from you four times. I am not sure whether this was a technical glitch but I have rejected the others.
I think allowing all 16-17 years old to vote would improve because i believe that young youths brings fresh ideas and innovating solutions to problems.
Leadership is an important aspect of any organization that brings growth, development, progress and unity. some people might believe that older people should be the ones' leading because they must voting have passed through so many experience in life, and that 16 years old would not be able to make mature decisions.
In conclusion, i agree to the fact that 16-17 year old should be granted permission to voting because:
1) I believe that our current 16 years old learns about civic and security education as a subject/topic so they must have some knowledge about the rules of voting and others.
2) it will encourage long life voting
3)they should also have right to talk about what affects their lives and future
I think allowing all 16-17 years old to vote would improve because i believe that young youths brings fresh ideas and innovating solutions to problems.
Leadership is an important aspect of any organization that brings growth, development, progress and unity. some people might believe that older people should be the ones' leading because they must voting have passed through so many experience in life, and that 16 years old would not be able to make mature decisions.
In conclusion, i agree to the fact that 16-17 year old should be granted permission to voting because:
1) I believe that our current 16 years old learns about civic and security education as a subject/topic so they must have some knowledge about the rules of voting and others.
2) it will encourage long life voting
3)they should also have right to talk about what affects their lives and future
Can you explain why you say that some people might believe "16 year olds would not be able to make mature decisions"?
people have different reasons of saying that 16 - 17 years would not be able to make mature decisions, some of them include the following:
1) According to science the brain of a 16 -17 years is not fully developed, they can be easily influenced by peers or people around them. therefore peer influence is one of the major key factors that teens face in adolescence.
2) Maturity is not about how smart or intelligent you are, it is about having memories of what went wrong before,
for instance:
An adult would be able to differentiate the mistake they made in the past than a child who is still learning.
In a class base now, what an ss2 student can do can't be compared to what a jss1 would do. i believe that an ss2 student can plot a graph, but a jss1 would define a graph.
3) In a situation where by you had to pick a captain for a ship heading into a massive storm, would you choose someone who had read every book about sailing or someone who has survived 10 real storms at sea.
if you were driving a car and saw a yellow light would you be more likely to slam on the brake or speed through it, if your three best friends were at the back seat cheering you on.
it is good that you vote in the age of 16/17 is good more people can vote not like the old time that you can't vote alone that time that you that not vote . 16 and 17 is a good time to vote
THANKYOU...
Can you say more on why you think that 16 and 17 is a good time to vote?
I think allowing young people around 16and17 to vote would improve elections because they would at least have a say in their country's politics
Can you share why else you think that people voting at 16 and 17 would improve elections?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because most of them are not quite responsible and experienced enough about their society. Most of the times, their source of information is the social media which in most cases are not true. The 16 and 17-year-olds might also get manipulated easily through the social media by their famous and popular TV stars. By the way, my advice is that the 16 and 17-year-olds should not help choose leaders.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because they are not fully mature enough to vote properly so if they vote for a bad candidate then our country will be at a risky stage.
I think it depends on how intelligent and smart they are because it’s a big decision but I think more people will end up to a longer fight on different sides
I think that if 16 and 17 yr olds are allowed to vote a lot of elections would be unfair because some children would be immature about it. I think that if they are allowed to vote , children would learn to make adult decisions and develop there brains , in the end children will understand the difference between right and wrong. I think that if over countries take this step to trust children then the rest of the world will follow. If this does happen there will be pros and cons:
The cons are that there will be immature decisions,
But the pros are that young brains will learn quicker.
Some people may not want children that are 16 to vote because they do not agree with the government and do not think that children can be trusted and might think that children won’t take this seriously and do what they think will be funny.
Some people will agree because they want children to take the first step to improve the world and learn right from wrong.
The world would Benifit from this because it will help make many children learn better and will make them more mature.
From a 16 and 17 year olds view they may or may not want to vote because it is a big responsibility
and will depend on our countries future
I think teenagers at age 16 should not have a say in voting because they dont yet have a matured mind yet like adults,they can be easily influenced by any thing on the media whether fake or real teenagers can be bought by politicians money and can be easily bribed which might have a big effect,as it is about the number of votes and no the quality of those voting.
In my own view I think allowing sixteen to seventeen years to vote is not actually all bad because most of them should actually have their right to their freedom of speech and it also fulfills their political and civic rights as a citizen and should be given a chance to vote because their opinions must also be listened to and heard and also if they begin to learn to vote when younger it won`t be hard for them when they turn into adults and also for students it would make civic education more real if what they`re thought can be practiced and make them understand more better how government works, it would also allow and encourage young people to participate in choosing their own leaders i.e it builds stronger participation in democracy.
THANKS
i think letting 16 and 17 year old vote would improve elections because it gives young people a say in decisions that affect the future, like school, jobs and the environment.
many teens are already responsible, some walk, pay taxes, and follow the news, so they can make informed choices. i know some people might say 16 year old are too young, but good civic education could fix that.
I think allowing all 16- and 17-year-olds to vote might improve or ruin elections based on the scenario.On one hand ,it gives young people a voice in deciding the fate of the nation the they're going to live in. One reason for my statement is that in Austria, where 16-year-olds are allowed to vote, studies show that young voters are just as informed as older first-time voters and are more likely to continue voting as they grow older. This has encouraged leaders to pay more attention to education, school facilities, and youth issues.
However, on the next hand allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote may not improve elections as per the data from European elections 2024. One reason for this is that in some countries, youth turnout remained low even after the voting age was reduced. In addition, some young voters can be influenced by unrealistic promises, such as long school holidays or free benefits like a $100 allowance for students, which may not be practical or affordable.
Overall, while lowering the voting age has clear advantages, it should be done carefully. A balanced solution would be to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote only in local elections, not in state or national elections, so they can learn to vote responsibly while keeping larger elections fair
I agree.... Thats a very deep thinking and i like the style you Though. :)
So, thats right the 16-17 years older votes can ruin the vote. And they should just vote in local election not the National election and that will help them to understand the process properly...
Thank you for reading!!!💗🧸
I think there are many arguments that justify whether or not 16 and 17 year olds can vote. Arguments in favor are that from the ages of 16, individuals can work, pay taxes and are subject to certain adult laws, suggesting how we should be able to have a say in the decisions the government are making. This will additionally help increase political engagement among young people early on. On the contrary, arguments against are the fact that maturity levels and life experience of younger teenagers, suggest how we may not fully be equipped to make such formal political decisions. This is a continued debate within our class.
In my view, 16-17-year-old teenagers should not be allowed to vote yet because they don`t have enough knowledge about it and due to it, they will vote as a joke. For instance, imagine that the popular of the group of friends is voting a party who wants a dictatorship, their friends may vote the same because they have no idea of the rest, they found it funny or they just because social pressure.
For this reason, I strongly beleive people should not vote until having 18 years old.
Some people might argue that 16-17 year olds are not mature enough to vote, that they lack the judgement to make good decisions. But elections might become better because young voters are less likely to be tied up in political traditions, party lines, caste and preconceived notions. Older voters often vote for the same party because of loyalty, even when the policies are no longer good for the people. Young voters, on the other hand, are likely to look at politics with fresh eyes. This would cause politicians to campaign on ideas and not on feelings or any catchphrases.
Issues like climate change, education, online privacy and jobs will define the next decades of young people's lives, but they have no say in them. Giving them the right to vote would cause politicians to look beyond election cycles and think about the long term effects of thei policies. And in my op Voting at 16 also allows voters to become responsible voters bechase
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote could improve elections because they would have voice in their decisions for a better future, maybe in education or employment. From my personal opinion, they should be allowed to vote only if they are prepared for it. For instance, some teenagers are not well-informed about our society and politics nowadays, so then they wouldn't be prepared for voting a future president. If we were educated for it, the minimum age for voting could be 16 or 17 years old. This is something about information and also be mature and responsible. In particular, in my country the allowed age to start voting is 18 years old. This doesn't mean everyone that reach this age has the enough maturity or responsibility for deciding what's the better for them. However, others with 18 years old, know that from there they become an adult and they have to take decisions in their own and start thinking about them and don't let others to think for them.
In conlusion, if this someday happens here in Spain, we should start to learn more and do the best for us.
I believe that allowing all 16-17 years olds to vote could both enhance and add complexity to elections, depending on the broader political context. From my view, allowing all 16-17 years old to vote could enhance elections by making them more representative of society as a whole. Many decisions about education system, climate change, and digital policies will have a profound impact on young people for generations to come, so it may encourage politicians to think further ahead than just making promises for the short term. It may also help young people realise that voting is a normal part of civic life, rather than something remote and unimportant. Others believe, a different perspective might be that reducing the voting age may not necessarily improve elections. Some people believe that political awareness comes with maturity and autonomy. In some countries, the political views of young people are heavily influenced by important public figures, such as popular film stars who talk about politics at public gatherings. While this may be exciting, it may also lead to young voters following leaders because of charisma rather than carefully considering policies. This could lead to a situation where voting is based on emotional appeal rather than informed discussions. Election would be best improved if youth voting where accompanied by good civic education and media awareness, demonstrating that informed participation is more important than age..
Excited to hear many other views !!!
I think that when allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote it would improve elections because, with the voices of younger people it is most likely they would feel more like they are being heard in whether or not someone is good for our country.One reason for my view is that when people are young and can't vote they would some times see more flaws that the president that was voted for made than the adults would which could effect the country's population and how it is rated by other country's. Then when the next election comes the former president may try to get elected to be president again, the young people may want to vote for someone else to feel heard and to prevent all of the earlier flaws that may effect the country again, but adults may vote for that former president because they never saw the flaws or they may not think that the younger people aren't right about all the flaws that effected the country.
I think letting all 16 and 17 years vote would somewhat not improve elections because some 16 and 17 year olds may mess around and some others may not know what they're talking about. One reason for my opinion is that most people at this age may have heard about voting or elections, also some 16 and 17 year olds may be more worried about the problems they have in their life and their mind may be on other things and they may not care who they pick. But also I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because more people can lead to more votes and there could be another chance for a person to win. Also some 16 and 17 year old do not have the same mindset as adults so they depend on what their parents are thinking about and be more focus on what their parents are talking about. In conclusion I think it would both improve and not improve elections.
I agree.... And i think that would be better if they only got to vote in natual election not in the national election. Because that time teenager might Just vote by the face not thinking about it😵💫
I also agree with your opinion because who knows they might just vote by the skin color , how they dress, or how much money they have. Also if one of their best friends wants to vote for someone and wants them to have more votes, their friend would try to persuade them to vote for who they want and what if that friend that was getting persuaded might not know about that person so they might vote for them just because.
I agree because... I know... I am teenager too...and its common like if my best friend hate or like someone Will hate or like that person too🙃 they like dont have that much of thinking power to decides that who will be the best for our nation🙃.....
yes i agree because thye should be more mature to understand the voting but not national
Yes... Because they need to be more matured to understand the main voting power and Importance of voting for a nation🤗
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because if they could vote and if there parents are immigrants wouldn't they think about their parents' future and not them being deported to there country, Trump wouldn't have maybe never been president and never would have made ICE agents raiding houses or taking parents away from their families. One reason for my view is that since I am a daughter of immigrants I have to grow up scared, knowing any second now my dad or mom can get arrested by ICE and I'm very aware and wish I could vote but I'm only TEN YEARS OLD and know how it feels to loose someone you love over a president.
Thank you for sharing your experience and I am sorry the political situation has left you feeling worried. I edited the end of the comment to remove personal details.
Can you see a way forward? How can this situation be brought to an end?
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote will improve elections because you now have more people to vote for you.One reason for my view is if you just have 18 and older that would still be a lot but if you have 16 and 17 year olds voting you might have a chance of getting voted for because you now have more people voting and the more people you have on your party than you can ha ve a better chance of winning the election.But now that I am reading the other comments I am starting to think that also you should not let people that are 16 and 17 vote because they can take the opinion of others instead of taking their own opinion and the person that they wanted to vote for might not win and then the person they didn't want to win will problibly win and they would be mad,cause I would be very mad because the person I wanted to for vote didn't win.And it would be their fualt because they let their friend choose for them,when they knew that they wanted to pick someone different.
How do you think young people can remain uninfluenced by their friends when voting?
I think young people can remain uninfluenced by taking their own opinion instead of listening to other people,trying to get them to change their answer to something that they didn't choose.
I think that 16 and 17-years old should vote because it will improve the voting and make it go higher and they helping people and parents in need because the president is doing wrong things to the people and I also think that they should vote because they are expressing their feelings and why or why not this is the right president for us and they might be educated or told not to choose the right person but don't choose the wrong person but I also think that they shouldn't vote because they might choose the wrong person as a joke because it might be funny to them but its not funny. and they might do the wrong thing so my opinion is like a 50/50 why they should vote and shouldn't vote because they are under age so some are immauture so that's why I think they should vote.
Can you say why you think young people may choose the wrong person as a joke?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because now that Donald Trump has signed a file for all illegal immigrants to return to their homeland. I know that 16 and 17-year-olds would not like the fact that they need to see their parents go back to their home country. One reason for my view is that for example, if 16 and 17-year-olds picked Kamala Harris and other adults are there picking Donald Trump to be president, that would really make a difference in the election agency. Then, if Kamala Harris wins the election, she would also make a difference in America's future and people by giving people the freedom to live with their friends and family.
I am lovable market and I think allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would improve elections because elections are based off of your own opinion. For example, say you wanted to vote for Kamala Harris and others want to vote for Donald Trump It really can't improve anything because for some people they want to vote for this and others want to vote for that other people have there own example. Also, I think that no matter your age you still should be able to vote because its not about education its about what your point of view is. Another point is that I really don't see the difference between 17 year olds and 18 year olds and they have all went to school (I hope) and they should know at that age a little bit of elections. The should be old enough to write a strong reasoning behind why you chose to vote this person. Another reason is that I have a cousin that is 16 and he told his friend to vote the person that he thought because he knew more than the 18 year old so this experience of mine shows that no matter your age its your opinion. In conclusion, I think that 16 - 17 year olds should be able to vote because you don't know what they have right up their sleeve.
I agree about the part were you said it doesn't matter your age just your opinion because its really important not to judge someone by there age .Also just because your a younger person it doesn't mean your point or view is any les valuable than someone twice your age. I also think that the your opinion on 17 and 18 year olds not being that different is valid as there is only a one year age gap and there opinion on the world, influencing their vote, can't have changed much in that space of time.
I am delightful_power and I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote does not improve because, What if they do not know any of the people that are trying to be what they are voting for and they just press a random person.Another reason why 16 and 17 year olds should not vote is because if they vote for a random person that is just a higher risk of the 16 or 17 year old to just keep voting for the same person over and over again and that person is going to keep winning and they will never realize.In addition is how some times at school the have the kids vote can can be a replacement of actually going to a place and voting because that is just for the school and not just going there and pressing random buttons. In conclusion that is my overall opinion on why 16-17 year olds should not vote.
:)
I think that allowing 16-year-olds to vote can be a positive step. Supporters argue that young people are affected by decisions about education, climate change, and the economy, so they deserve a say in choosing leaders. Voting at a younger age can also help build good civic habits early and encourage lifelong participation in politics. However, others believe 16-year-olds may lack enough experience or knowledge. Overall, giving young people a voice can improve society if they are supported with good political education.
Can you say more on why you say voting at a younger age builds 'good civic habits early"?
Voting at a younger age helps build good civic habits early because habits are easier to form when people are still learning how society works.
Young people are often still in school when they first vote, so teachers can explain how elections work and why voting matters. This guidance makes the first experience less confusing and more positive.
Also, studies show that people who vote in their first elections are more likely to keep voting later in life. Starting early makes voting feel normal and encourages long-term engagement in
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because sometimes, young people are gifted or they can have a better vision or a wise decision on who to choose. One reason for my view is that 16+ kids can be extremely responsible when they grow up, which leads to:
Barely making any mistakes in life
Having a stable life
Have stable financial issues
Mostly being perfect.
So, I think that 16+ kids would improve election but, sometimes things dont go as planned, people who participate in elections can get threatened to choose a specific person or, some kids may start to scam or so, in the end, they're still kids, so i think that the government should install a protection system for the kids to make sure they dont scam or get threatened, and maybe not only 16+ maybe even younger like starting from 13 or 14, anyway its just my opinion so... Anyway that's it.
Bye.👋🏻
I think yes mostly because i belive that ever one deservers a say and i think that we should let 16-17 year olds because we should trust them to do the right thing and i know that not a lot of teens are smart but i know that some are .
And i think that well you can join the army at sixteen but you cant vote for the person who runs it
but the goverment will gladly send 16-17 year olds out to war and die for there counrtry but they still cant vote isnt that just nonsense?
and you can legally drive a car at 16 but you still cant vote. once again, isnt't that nonsense?
you can get a job and they will still take your tax even though you still cant vote its just bad that these kids can do all of what i just listed but they still cant vote and im going to say now that i dont think that the goverment did well this time
I think the goverment should put an end to this madness and kick kier starmer from being the prime minister becuase he is just doing everithing wrong.
and my name is:
forgiving_starfruit
from:
Great Britan
I think that 16 and 17 year-olds being able to vote will improve the election because 16 and 17 year-olds will increase the chance of a better president, allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to express and tell what they truly think. Also helping with brainstorming and more! Letting 16 and 17 year-olds is not just for fun it can make a bright future and history in the American records. In conclusion I think that 16 and 17 year-olds should vote for good.
i think 16 and 17 year olds should not vote, because they might do the wrong thing and the voting process will not go well with the 16 year old and 17 year olds are not mature enough to vote.unless they are educated or taught well enough not to do those type of things at all, also not to think that it is funny in a moment something like that during the voting or any place at all. another reason I think they shouldn't vote is because if they choose the wrong person they're doing a bad thing they're making their parents look bad in front of a lot of people. and that's my opinion on why they shouldn't vote and that's why i think 16 and 17 years old shouldn't vote at all.
Hi i'm articulate_lime
In my opinion I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because of their minds.One reason for my view is without 16 and 17 year olds there are many bright minds that cannot vote ,and with critical thinking 16 and 17 year olds can choose wisely.A lot of votes are missing because no 16 and 17 year olds are voting.Even some adults want their kids that are 16 and 17 years old to vote.
I think voting should be accessible as it can help teenagers to understand the importance of who you vote for. It can also help to educate their own political views rather than others. In fact, I think that 14-15 year olds should start learning the countries politics in their schools curriculum.
Some people may say that it would be a bad idea as they could be influenced by others on social media but I think that it would educate their conscience of knowing what is real or fake with what they are reading.
I think that 16 and 17 year olds don't vote because they will be confused and ask adults. I suggest they learn to vote and they should be 18 to vote
I think allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote will improve the election because it gives more people democracy, which makes it fairer and gives people a chance to express they feelings and emotions on who should be elected for the elections. One reason for my view is it makes it fair which a big part of the law so 16 and 17 year olds are a start to maybe possibly making everyone to vote at least for 14 years. I disagree with prodigious hedgehog as not all 16 and 17 people don't know about the elections and some people are mature enough to partake . I agree discreet cricket as correctly parents might manipulate there vote and force them to pick their chosen party this could make it unfair so there are two different sides to this topic.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds vote will improve elections because there would be more votes and there might be a chance for the other party to win and it can also give them the experience of voting and they can learn what voting is about so it can affect their future voting process in a positive way.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because young people are the ones who are going to be affected the most by the decisions made by leaders today. One reason for my view is that issues like climate change and the cost of university will impact our lives for a very long time, so it’s only fair that we get a say in who is making the rules.
A lot of 16-year-olds are actually really well-informed because we study things like citizenship and politics in school, and we use the internet to research different points of view. If you can have a job, pay taxes, and even leave school at 16, it doesn't make sense that you aren't allowed to tick a box on a ballot paper. Allowing us to vote would make more people feel like their voice actually matters from a younger age.
In contrast, I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because many people at that age are still very easily influenced by what they see on social media. One reason for my view is that sites like TikTok or Instagram often show "fake news" or only one side of a story, and a lot of teenagers might just vote for whoever is trending or what their favorite influencer says without looking at the real facts.
Also, many 16-year-olds might just copy what their parents think because they still live at home and haven't really experienced the "real world" yet. At 16, most people are focused on their exams and their friends, and they might not take the responsibility of choosing a leader seriously enough. I think waiting until you are 18 is better because you’ve had more time to grow up and form your own independent ideas.
I think that allowing all 16 and 17 year olds vote would not improve elections because during that time we have yet to take exams, think about careers and develop our minds.
Only during our mid 20's does the part of our brain that makes decisions finally develop and finish maturing. While many may say that, what difference does being 18, 17 or 16 make, but actually our society has been made so that almost globally 18 is the age of being able to drive, drink and many other things. If we disregard these things next time we'll be discussing if 16 year olds should be able to buy alcohol, drive and any other things 18 year olds can then do. We shouldn't just throw away legal boundaries that are already in place and let us decide when we feel like being adults.
On top of this, 16 year olds, while still in a major development phase, are inconsistent and easily persuaded on social media and other social platforms. They are still under the guidance of their parents/guardians which often manipulate their decisions using the authority of parenthood. While a select few may be interested in politics the majority often follows a popular opinion around them and is still busy with studying, friendships and other things that are not paying debts and bills. Many of them do not understand the the full impact of their vote and because they have not learned how to be alone in the world and face challenges alone, they won't understand what their vote actually means and how it will either help or challenge in the future.
I'm excited to hear everyone share their thoughts and opinions.
Thank you!
I think allowing all 16-17 year olds vote would improve the elections because 16 -17 year olds have feelings too. One reason for my views is that a number of the laws of the land affects them too, for example if they go against the law of the land, they are often tried as adults, if they drive they must follow the traffic law and I believe that if they earn money they pay tax. So why should they not be allowed to vote if they are already contributing to the society. Sometimes 16-17 year olds have a feeling of powerlessness as they watch the older adults make decisions that will affect them in the next 30, 40 , 50 and 60 years to come. I know some might disagree that they should not be allowed to vote because they might be easily influenced by their parents, or other adults, I think older adults are also sometimes influenced by people or the media. Since the 16 -17 year olds are humans, they see what is happening in the society how the government handle the affairs of the land, I am of the view that they be allowed to vote as this will increase the number of voters, sometimes as a first timer you are more likely to vote than those who have voted before.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years olds to vote would not improve elections because sometimes they don’t think well ,as a teen person I think that we would be influenced by our friends or an adult , also they wouldn’t take it seriously in my opinion , and most of the teen people don’t know about politics or aren’t interested. Also they don’t allow to vote until +18 because some scientists have studied about the behavior of teen people and the results are that they are not enough aware.
Can you explain why you don't think teens would take voting seriously?
I think that 16-year-olds should be allowed to help choose leader because the decision made today will affect our lives for a very longer time if we can work and pay taxes at that age we should also have a say in who runs the country however some people might worry that 16-year -old s don't have enough expression yet I believe that if we learn about the news and politics in school we can make smart choices just like adults do giving younger people a voice make the future feel more exciting for everyone
Can you say more on what you mean by not having enough "expression"?
Personally, I am all for this argument. This gives the younger, teenage generation a chance to be responsible. Every vote counts, with this rule even more votes would go forth. Now, I understand that a small variety of teenage people(s) can be irresponsible and misbehaved, but how about the civil, righteous, young citizens of the world. What about the responsible bunch of future successful people that will make their choice correctly.
The more that I have deduced from reliable sources like, ‘The Sun’ and ‘BBC’ the more I realise that the stereotypes of that particular age group are just not true (mostly). Look at the amazing people that have come onto good morning Britain are all amazing people who have inspired millions of others into sophisticated behavior. Take people like greta thumburg, although not being British, inspired an entire generation into caring about the environment, what stops another incredible individual teen to change the nation’s opinions. Someone who can fight against the stereotypes, against the lies and bring our teenage communities to responsibly and respectfulness.
This can be done with voting, all that is needed is an inspiration. A person, a short film, a book who cares! Anything can inspire, anything and anyone.
In conclusion, 16-17 year olds should vote and decide future governments.
I think allowing all 16-year-olds can improve and not improve elections. Some might feel pressured to vote for whoever their parents vote for because their are new to these kind of experiences, while others already have a strong opinion formed, wanting to vote for whoever they want. I think it is important to base your opinion on what you believe, not what someone else believes and being able to make your voice heard knowing that your vote is just as valid as anyone else can open up a new world of possibilities, helping young people to grow in confidence and boldness, strengthening their ability to debate and reason out ( which is exactly what we’re doing by participating in Topical Talk ) . But then again, some teenagers won’t be matured enough to take the elections seriously, just a joke to them, which can cause the wrong person to be elected. However, I believe that if they are taught the right way, 16-year-olds can prove to provide powerful voices, and can be good practice for when they are older since their time will come to lead our world through hardships, situations that call for decision making and you trusting in yourself.
From my point of view, allowing 16 and 17 -year-olds would be great for some reasons but not a good option for others. This because although that implies they can actively participate in their future, they don't seem to be prepared.
Firstly, it's true that many of them may be prepared to participate and could do it following their own criteria. Besides, this gives them the opportunity to decide in their future and participate in the rule of the country.
Secondly, the vast majority won't be prepared for it, because they won't have enough knowledge of history and politics, and maybe they aren't sure about their own ideas. In addition, young people are more manipulable and susceptible to hate speeches, which can lead to elections that in the end don't benefit the country.
In conclusion, I believe that although some of them are prepared and could do an excellent work, in general it would be a disaster because they aren't mature enough or know about politics, history or themselves enough. Furthermore, as a 15-year-old who day by day is with people from this age range, I can tell that they aren't ready or enough educated.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year olds would improve elections because it is allowing more variety into the decision on who runs our country. One reason for my view is the younger generations often have a different view on matters to older generations.
Allowing 16/17-year olds to vote could improve voting and elections due to the fact that the younger generations often view matters differently and have a different approach to things than older generations. This could allow for more consideration during voting times because often younger people have more insight to things and can sense things that maybe the older generations can’t grasp the thought of due to the fact that they grew up in a different time. This could also allow for more votes and opinions to be considered, which could drastically change the vote.
However, I know some people feel differently on this matter. It is true that sometimes 16/17-year olds can be immature or not fully aware of the severity of what they are voting for. This only accounts for a small percentage of the population because the truth is that most 16/17-year olds are mature enough to express their opinions, as well as the fact that it eases them into the real world, rather then just throwing is tall at them suddenly as soon as hey become 18 - legally an adult.
Therefore, I believe that 16/17-year olds should be allowed to vote as it allows them a chance to express their opinions and prove that they are mature enough to handle real life issues and make important decisions which is a skill they will need for later life.
In my opinion, lowering the voting age to 16 would totally change the game. We're the ones who'll live with these decisions the longest, so it's only fair we help choose who decides our future on things like climate and education. Plus, plenty of guys our age are working and paying taxes-it makes no sense to contribute to the economy but get no say in it! Sure, people say we're too young or influenced by social media, but the fix isn't to ban us; it's for schools to actually teach us how to handle the responsibility. If we get used to it while we're still in school, we'll grow up actually understanding what democracy is about. The smart move isn't waiting for youth to grow up to participate; it's giving them responsibility while they are still learning to ensure a truly conscious generation, not just a number in the elections. In the end, we aren't just the 'future' of this country, we are 'partners' in it right now. If the decisions affect us, then our voices must be the ones to shape them.
Personally,I feel that many young people wants to have a voice in their future decisions,but I also think that some of them are not enough interested in that topic to understand at what are they voting.So I think young people must have the oportunity of voting but thinking It.
Can you say more on why you think some young people are not "interested enough" in a topic to understand voting it?
I think that allowing all 16 and 17-year olds to vote would NOT improve elections because, although many people say that they aren't mature enough, 18 year olds and 16-17 year olds aren't as different, but maturity levels are still important, no matter how short they are. All this would really do is include more voices and opinions. 1-2 year differences aren't as big as a 12 year old being allowed to vote, many people say that 16-17 year olds aren't mature enough to vote, but as I said before, they aren't as much different as 18 year olds. But the slight difference between the maturity levels can still make a difference, as it can change thoughts, and change how some people think.
16 year olds cannot vote because they cannot take decisions for them selves and because they are too young to vote.
I think allowing all 16 year olds to vote would not improve elections because they might choose the wrong person, and because they are still children. And someone can deceive them into voting for the wrong person.
16-17 years also don't know anything about leadership, don't have the knowledge of economy, and cannot participate in decision making of a state or country.
What would the 'wrong' person to vote for look like? Is this not subjective?
The wrong person to vote for is someone who thinks of how to enrich himself not minding the interest of the voters. Yes it is subjective because they are been influenced by their personal interests rather than the general interest.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it would give young people a real voice in decisions that directly affect their future, such as education, climate policy and job opportunities. One reason for my view is that many 16-year-olds already take on responsibilities like working, paying taxes and engaging in political discussions, so voting would be a natural extension of that responsibility.
This could also improve elections by increasing political engagement from a younger age. If people start voting earlier, they are more likely to develop lifelong voting habits, which could lead to higher turnout and a more representative democracy overall. This links to education, as schools could place more emphasis on citizenship and critical thinking, helping students understand political choices in the same way they learn to analyze issues in subjects like history or geography.
In addition, technology plays a role here. Young people are often highly engaged with digital media and online information, so their participation could push politicians to communicate more clearly, combat misinformation, and address issues that matter to younger generations. Overall, giving 16 and 17-year-olds the vote could make elections more inclusive, forward-looking and connected to the future of society.
I disagree with comments that agree with the lowering of voting age, because a 16 and 17 year old are minors who rely on their parents for direction. The education of these minors will be affected negatively if they are allowed to participate in the voting process.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because schools teach little to nothing on the topic of politics to students so they are not aware of current affairs. Students may heavily rely on family views or social media which can lead to a bias and therefore cause them to be ‘pinned’ to one view. Supporters do say this gives young people a voice in decisions that affect their future, however I believe if you were to give young people this chance, knowing they rarely learn about these topics, inevitably decisions could be made that will not necessarily benefit them. I understand some 16 and 17-year-olds are educated but surveys show that only 31% of 16 to 24-year-olds were fairly or very interested in politics.
As a way of overcoming this issue, I believe, starting from Year 9, ages 13 to 14, students should be taught about current affairs and politics as a compulsory subject. This allows them to vote with unbiased views based on their own learning, leading to reasonable opinions, which are not just influences, but personal ideas.
Overall, I believe giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote would not improve elections because of their lack of professional teaching and influence by social media or family. A way to overcome this is to teach students about this before they turn 16.
An excellent comment that shows a great reasoning - well done! At Topical Talk, we agree that teaching young people about current affairs, from an early age, is a good thing. But why might some people disagree? What's the counter argument?
I agree with you because 16-17 year olds do not have any knowledge of politics and they can not be voted for. I also agree that politics and current affairs should be taught in schools and be made compulsory subject.
You say that 16-17 year olds do not have any knowledge of politics. Do you have evidence for this? Might there be exceptions?
In my opinion, if boys and girl's aged 16 to 17 are given the right to vote, the development of the country will surely be ensured. The greatest strength of any nation today lies in its students and young people.
My country, Bangladesh, is an independent nation. The main driving force behind this independence was the student community. History has proven time and again that students are always the first to stand against Justice.
The age of 16-17 marks the beginning of youth, a time when people become idealistic,learn to distinguish between right and wrong and develop a sense of responsibility toward society and the nation. If young people are give the right to vote at this age, political awareness will increase, which will contribute greatly to the economic, social, and overall development of the country.
At present,many adult voters are influenced through false promises and temptations. However, teenagers aged 16-17 understand the true value of voting. They have the courage to stand against injustice and choose the candidate they believe is most deserving, without being influenced by fear or greed.
I think that maybe 16 year olds shouldn’t vote, but 17 and above would be ok. As 16 year olds are technically still children, their brains haven’t fully developed, and they might not understand. It takes a lot of knowledge to know how politics and voting works. The 1832 reform act put in place electoral voting. By the time it was 1866, all people had to be over 21 and make otherwise they couldn’t vote, and that’s not fair as it’s sexist and there was no gender equality. In 1867, the conservative government introduced the parliamentary reform act, bringing the electorate to about 2.5 million.
A bit later, the 1884 parliamentary reform act was put in place, stretching out elections to the whole United Kingdom, and almost 18 percent of the population voted - every 2 in 3 men. In 1918, many men couldn’t vote if they returned from war. Because of the representation of the people act, to vote you didn’t have to own a property, but you still had to be a male over 21. In 1928, women were allowed to vote and all adults over 21 could.
This is how evolution around voting has changed already in such a long time, and soon I think that they could either lower the voting age, or higher it. I think 16 might be a bit too young and immature, but 17 and above I think is reasonable.
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your research - where did you find your information? Which reform do you think made the most positive change?
if schools give 16\17 year olds bias information about who to vote for then they shouldn't be allowed to vote. If 16\17 year olds have different classes about different people in politics about the good and bad stuff about them at let the people choose for themselves after the lessons about who to vote for.
How can schools make sure this happens? What 3 rules would you put in place?
i would say that the three rules would be to make sure the students have had lessons on all the parties before they vote. also you need to make sure all the students know what their actually voting for and what impact theyll make on everyone. also the 16\17 year olds have to know how to vote and where to vote.
Thanks for suggesting such practical ideas!
Although previously I have said 16\17 year olds should be able to vote I have looked at some of the other peoples comments and I agree with the people that said stuff about social media. Especially now social media is being used all over the world a lot! I think that some 16\17 year olds will look at social media for information instead of professionals who know what their talking about, so they might change their vote due to false information.
Well done for being open-minded and reading the comments from other Topical Talkers!
Hi I am 16. In my opinion allowing all 16 to 17 year olds to vote will not improve or worsen voting because there are some boys and girls who are influenced by what their parents say and vote as they wish and there are some boys and girls who have the ability to understand so I think allowing 16 to 17 year olds to vote can help them quickly form their own opinions and feel heard because they should participate in important decisions of their own country or it is legal to participate like the rest. It can help these boys and girls feel that adults think their opinions have no value they are just children who have no voice but some children are forced to vote for someone because of their parents' support and there are some children who are not yet old enough or qualified to vote or stand for election as leaders. Some boys and girls vote for a quality of their choice. They may vote without evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of their program. However, I think some children's freedom of expression may be taken away, but some children can choose a great leader for their country. Thank you👍
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because younger kids and older adults can be influenced by the internet and social media and it might make them change their mind on their own opinion. One reason for my view is if someone told another person that for example the sky was green then more people started to tell them it would make your brain think that the sky really is green because people where influencing them telling them over and over again.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote in the election would improve it because they should have a voice and a say in who they want to have controlling their country in the future. Also there can be more votes for party's so that is a good thing because then there is a better chance for other party`s not just the party we currently have. I do think though it would be a good thing there could also be a chance that they could get influenced by their friends or social media that they would make a bad choice and a choice that they are not happy with and then they can`t go back the next day to change it.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year- olds to vote would not improve elections because they get told wrong things online so they get confused. They will most probably vote for the wrong person and get really bad things to do. They will want to change but won't get to change because he/she already chose the person they have. Also might get misleading information and choose someone they won't like.
Allowing 16 to 17 year olds to vote could improve the elections by letting more votes in to help new candidates become prime minister. But, they are one of the most prone to manipulation(misleading information) . Making them only voting for what they think is good for their country, turning out to be false promises. They also tend to be the ones who will listen to what social media and the news's opinion often being biased . They may also use bribery to please their candidate.
I think the Government should not let 16 and 17 year old vote because it can give them the chance to do something what lots of people have done for years.They are also at the age where they will get manipulate you by friends and family to vote for a specific team.When they start paying taxes they will get manipulated by the people saying the taxes would not rise at all.
Interesting - can you clarify your point a bit more? Especially when you say the vote should not be allowed for these age groups "because it can give them the chance to do something what lots of people have done for years".
I think that lowering the minimum voting age to 16 will have a good impact as it means that another 1.5million people will be able to have their say in what they feel that is the best. It also lets younger people have a say therefore making them feel important. It would also have an amazing impact as the more people voting the higher chance there is for there to be the best outcome and best candidate being chosen for what they wanted. Please reply!
Your answer has captured a real benefit of a democracy - where key decisions are chosen by a majority. Well done!
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because people at the age of 16/17 can not really understand elections or put inappropriate things on their vote. One reason for my view is that people should be thinking about studies, not voting, but they also might improve elections because there will be more votes so all candidates can have a better chance at being prime-minister.
I personally think 16 and 17 year old should be able to cast a vote as I think they are old and mature enough to understand how important it is however I can understand why some people think no as they are not mature because this is the country's future in their hands so I can see were there going. But, I think 16 and 17 year old should be able to vote but I do have a side of me where I think no because they probably could be very easily influenced by there friends and family and social media platforms because for example one of there favorite platform creator could say another option and they could easily change their mind.
I think that 16 and 17 years old can vote because they have their own responsibility and there would be more people to vote so there is a chance for different prime minsters. But if there is a online message they could believe it and it could spread around and cause only one to get voted.
i think it better to become 18 to vote because if you would not improve election because they would not understand the election the meaning of votes and also by they age they do not be thinking about vote because they need studies job also allowing all 16 to 17 to vote could get more election and improve
I don't think that 16 and 17 year old should be able to vote because they might vote what their friend is voting for . At the same time they shouldn't because they see lots of AI on TikTok and instagram that have lots of false information on things like voting and elections that are NOT true. Because kids do not know the responsibilities of false information like Donald trump for example, people could see videos on TikTok about him saying that he is going to make everyone who votes for him get a tour of his house but it is actually AI. This can manipulate the children and teenagers into something they want in return for them voting for that person and then never doing what they promised.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would improve elections because it would show how capable they are at choosing. However they might get bribed by friends family or media to pick a person to be elected. Sometimes influence is important because you can hear peoples ideas but sometimes its not because you do not want to be manipulated.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because it allows more people to vote and give their opinions.
I understand but they might not have the knowledge for all the voting. Also they might do what other people think and not what they really think, it’s quick hard to think about it.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote is a bad idea because not every teenagers has a mind of their own. They are easily deceived by the crowd. A teenager might decide to cast his or her vote based on their parents', friends' or family member's opinion.
An adult can make decision on his own, has a first hand experience of the candidate especially when most times, the aspiring leader is a well known indidvidual or has been in government before.
One reason for my view is because most times, young adults are easily swept off their feet by what they see now, the aspiring individual might decide to put on a show which often times can be misleading, the teenager sees this and is convinced to vote even wnen record has it that the individual might not completely be a great person in character.
I think that 16 to 17 years can improve elections because they are smart enough to know if the Prime Minister is doing the correct thing or not. They can also be able to put a change to the votes and not be manipulated as easy as older years. They know what has happened because they are able to tell what is wrong and what is right.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because trends could go viral and there may be 16-17 year olds just voting on any random person or voting for their own reasons.
Also, they may be voting for anyone who offers them anything and may be persuaded a lot easier.
Although they may be getting younger voting experiences for when they are older they may not think voting through.
My third reason is that they may vote for people that focus less on the environment because these days, you see a lot of older teenagers littering without a care in the world.
In addition to my very first reason they may be voting for people who only talk about certain things that benefit themselves , there fore I do not think that introducing 16-17 year olds to vote in England would improve voting in any way
I think that 16-17 year old's should be allowed to vote because their voice should be heard by other people. They might even have a very good idea and a very good explanation so just because they are young that doesn't mean that their voice shouldn't be reconsidered by humans with their good explanations. It also means there will be WAY MORE people in their elections and there is more than just grown ups that want to vote so i think that it is a very good idea to let lower and younger people vote in big elections that come up.
Hello I am valuable-owl and I think allowing 16 and 17 year old vote would not improve the election because the younger the kid is the more persuasive they are. There is a tactic called manipulate that is used in elections to win, children would be more vulnerable to this. However I also think allowing all 16-17 -old to vote would improve the election because there could be a chance that another party could win if people vote another party instead of this one that we have right now.
I think under 18 years old should not be able to vote because they are not mature enough. So they should not be able to vote for a new prime minister.
One reason for my review is they are probably going to be influenced by their friends, make silly decisions, make the wrong decision and and it is too complex for them.
So therefore I think no they should not be able to vote as an under 18 and not be able to give any ideas because they will make the wrong decision.
I think 16 year old should not be allowed to vote because they can be manipulated by the internet and friends may not think the same and they change their mind from others opinions. We did a vote on should they change or keep the age the same and most of the class keep the same age because younger and older people will follow their friends opinions and not their own.
It lets people who may have a unique opinion vote however they should put safety rules in to stop 16 or 17 year old people being ruled by manipulation and misinformation and bias news centers only showing disappointing statements . The parties may use possible AI generated or provide misleading information.
I think allowing 16 year old people and 17 year olds would improve the voting elections because the amount of people who could make a difference might help elections have differences .
Although they are young they might understand it and have a big impact on voting, but we do not want kids struggling to vote and get panicked, but if you think they are ready I say why
It is a big thing to consider letting 16 to 17 year old vote. they may influence friends family at their age or even other countries. If it becomes real it could become something that is very helpful in the future because the young kids could have more ideas why they should be prime minister in England.
Hello I am Shy_robin and I think allowing 16-17 year old's to vote might improve the elections but there's a down side because old and young people would get bribed with toys or items or old people can get manipulated by the tech. Also the prime minister can say like I am making the rent free and I am building houses for the homeless but after you pick him he increases the rent and didn't make houses. The procedures for election a public office and the younger you are the smarter you are.
I think that 16-17 year old's should be allowed to vote because you can get advice from them and they can improve their advice to other people and you can hear their opinions. I think that 16 -17 is a good age to improve elections to allow them to be heard from other people so that people can hear their advice so you can get opinions, so it can help you to vote so people can hear your opinions.
I think 16 -17 year old people should not be allowed to vote in elections because they watch too much of internet and can be manipulated by it and the internet can make them think someone is better than others . To much of the internet is fake and may make you think they can do more stuff than others and can bribe people with money. 16-17 year old's will follow their friends opinions instead of their own.
I think that 16 and 17 year old's vote would not improve because they wont know that some people offer something for you to vote for them but they might scam you so they become prime minister and they might post videos to persuade you into voting for them. People might vote for someone because they like them or they are a part of their family or friends. Parents should be the only ones that vote. They are more smart.
In Italy you are allowed to vote when you're 18, but i think there are a lot of younger people that are intetrested in politics, and yeah maybe start to vote from 13-14 is a bit too much, because you cant have the knowledge to partecipate to something so important such as elections, but when you're 16-17, you're likely starting to see what happens around you and also you start to develop your own ideas. so why not? I dont think that there is such a difference between 17 years old and 18 years old people
i agree and desagree . I agree because i think that young people (like 16-17) should be more involved and I think that lettinge them vote is a good way to begin. I also agree because I think that letting only the "elders" vote is not good because if they are the only ones to vote we would live in a old society that is not good for the new generetion.
But I also desagree because they are too young to understand the situation , I think that they are also easily manipulated by the other people. But I also think that the majority of them are making difficult decision almost every day for exemple : which school to choose after the middle school ,also about the career many teenagers are famous rn on tik tok ,instagram... because of their decisons. Right now many teenagers are taking to the street in USA for protesting aganist Trump all because of the decisions of the elders. In conclusion most of the young people are able to vote because they are able to take their own decisions. Bye
I think allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because this particular age group is influenced by mainly social media. Influencers and content creators, practically make majority of our decisions. But not only social media, friends and family influence young people’s choices. When someone sees their friends all voting for a particular party even if they don’t agree with them they will vote the same as well. Because they don’t want to be different or don’t want to feel left out. Family too, When you are at this young age you also still think like your parents only a small percentage of people have completely different views to their parents. Whatever you hear at home the good or the bad your choice will be influenced.Peer pressure also plays a huge role in this and at this age. Being bullied or pressured to vote for a particular party will mean the country’s votes won’t really be fair. Bringing in high school students isn’t a smart decision as peer pressure, bullying and other big influencers will have more of a hold on 16 -17 year olds rather than 18 year olds.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because at that age, teenagers are old enough to make sense and understand things. One reason for my view is that when a teenager is 17, they're already so close to being 18 so they should already be thinking about their responsibilities as adults. I do also think that while it would be beneficial for 16 and 17-year-olds to have a say in elections, there should be restrictions or policies on it. Requiring them to take a course on how important elections are or having them do their research on each candidate would be beneficial. Having a longer process to register to vote would also help to really encourage teens who genuinely are interested in making their vote count to do so, and the ones who don't really care to just not vote.
I believe 16 and 17-year-olds would not improve elections because their brain isn't fully developed instead I think the age to vote should be higher like 25 because that's when your brain is developed.I believe this because research shows the prefrontal cortex which handles risk assessment does not developed roughly until 25.Also,research shows brain development mostly depends on experience and I believe 16 and 17-year-olds are not experience enough right now.That's why I believe 16 and 17-year-olds would not improve elections and the age should be higher instead.
I think allowing 16 to 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because I feel like they aren't really mature enough to make such important decisions. The reason why I think this is because 16 year olds are usually influenced by social media and most likely their vote would be influenced by social media.
I agree strongly. As you said, that certain age group is not as mature as the actual adults and they're likely on the internet. When I read this I was like "oh my gosh this person just read my mind!" keep going with these great responses congenial_chemistry!
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because 16 and 17-year-olds because their frontal lobes which is apart of the brain responsible for making decisions isn't fully developed. One reason for my view is that 16 and 17-year-olds aren't responsible for voting because most of them rely on social media on their decisions, since they rely so much on social media they'll just believe anything they see on any social media platform.
I think 16’s and 17’s can vote so it gives young people some time to be ready while growing to 16 or 17 because being alone in a voting house sounds really scary 😟 although if your not scared 😟 and your really brave you will be able to vote but adults and teenagers have to vote together because of the fact that sometimes a teenager and a adult might be a family together.
Hi I am skillful_rock i think that it should be 15 because it is more better because it give younger people get to vote for big and wonderful things hope you enjoyed my speech. Bye see you next time
I think 16 year old's should be voting as long as they think who to vote and who would be best for the country and I think some resposible 15 year old's should vote but they should be careful, who vote for the same reason 16 year old's should be able to vote so that's why I think 15 and 16 year od's should vote.
I agree with you because I think 16 year olds and 17 year olds should vote cause they are in high school which means they are going to be in college in 2 or 1 years which means they are they will vote. So they should know what it is like. All in all they should vote
I think that 16 year old people should not be able to because they are not mature enough to have a impactful decision.
HI I am rhetorical_whale and I think that that 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote because....
I believe that 16 and 17 year olds should be aloud to vote because they are more than capable off voting as i think they are very responsible. however if they were to be rude or inapproprirate then it would be quite annoying so i think it depends on there parents
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because this set of teens are already growing and are having knowledge happening around them. From that knowledge they get, they can use it to vote for people who could improve their state of being in their country.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because young people at this age can be easily be manipulated by others to vote for a particular group. One reason for my view is an 18-year-old is more experienced than a 16 or 17 year old, if the voting age is reduced to 16 or 17 people won't get to vote for themselves.
Manipulation is a big risk in regards to giving young people the ability to vote. What measures could be put in place to reduce this risk? And why do you think 18 year olds are more capable to vote than 16/17 year olds, some of whom are already working and paying taxes?
My reason is because some 16 and 17-year-Olds are not yet fully experienced about the outside world and can be easily manipulated by their peers, while 18-year-Olds who are fully grown-ups and can think for themselves are able to vote and wouldn't be easily manipulated by their peers.
I think that people aged 16-17 should be able to vote because it could impact them to make better choices and decisions in their lifetime. People this age are close to an adult age. If people aged 16-17 are able to vote, they may feel more comfortable because they get to vote for who they think is right for them.
On the other hand, some teenagers have not matured enough to be able to vote for who is right for the country, because it may influence them to make other decisions that are not very responsible. Teenagers might feel like that have a lot of control over anything, and that could lead to some people feeling like they don’t have a choice over a lot of things.
hello i am busy bird i think that they shouldn't change it to 18 to 16 years old your still a kid so the just don't care so they vote some random and they won't take it serious there way to young don't really understand all for it
thinks for reading from busy bird
hello i am busy bird i think that they shouldn't change it to 18 to 16 years old your still a kid so the just don't care so they vote some random and they won't take it serious there way to young don't really understand all for it
thinks for reading from busy bird
I think that 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote because it opens more and more people to the voting and that they would be more on the news. 16-17-year-olds should be allowed to vote for another reason and that is because there almost adults and can take the news and most of them will live on there own.
I disagree because they are still children and won’t take the voting serious.They need to keep it that 18.
Amicable wilddog good reason for 16s to vote you convince me a bit.
Thank-you for reading from busy bird 🐦
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would improve elections because then they would get influenced of their own choices when they get older. I think that allowing teens to participate in elections is some sort of educational method for them to actually experience what it is like to feel responsible and feel recognized by society. Although they may lack experience than older participants, they still hold potential as they actually understand some things better than adults. They understand what it feels like to be constantly overwhelmed and stressed of school and just having too much work that they couldn't physically and mentally handle, they understand what it feels like to be left out or excluded, they understand what it feels like to be unable of expressing certain feelings to parents or adults. So, what I am trying to point out here is that teens may be more mentally mature , aware and responsible than most adults because most of them nowadays are forced to carry an overload of responsibilities, like for example teens in the US who are expected to move out and start their careers and work before even entering University.
Another reason from my viewpoint is that most elections nowadays just feel the same when older people only are allowed to vote, as if their votes are almost expected or not as unique so we shouldn't expect major turning points as results of the outcome of an election only for people above 18. Moreover, I believe that young participants's votes would help create balance which would totally help improve elections.
I think allowing 16 and 17 years old to vote is actually not a bad idea, cause it can improve elections. 16 and 17 years old are very close to the legal voting age in some countries. if a 16 and 17 year old teen can be able to differentiate from what is good and bad then the 16 and 17 year old should be allowed to vote. When we vote , we are adhering to the law of democracy and it is also corresponding to the definition of democracy. But in the sense that voting is democracy then why should we now not allow 16 and 17 to vote. Many people believe that 16 and 17 are not yet mature, they cannot make decisions for themselves, they cannot understand politics, and because of all this they are not now allowed to vote. Okay, but nowadays parents get phones or ICT gadgets for their children which some of them are up to 16 and even 17 years old. They can go online to different places where they understand how politics row. For me a 16 and 17 years old are already mature and when they are allowed to vote the chances of elections being improved will be high, because the things that they see around them will influence their choice, because sometimes this influence take active part in their choice of leaders. It is mostly young people nowadays that are on facebook, social media, tiktok and these are the popular sites that politics are sometimes shared.
I partly agree that 16-17 year olds should start to understand about elections and start voting because in some countries 16 year olds are considered as adults,as a result i believe that means they are mature enough to take the responsibility that an adult could and should take.Still,many people around this age are still acting immature or making desicions without thinking clearly if it is really what they need and not what they wanted.Though i must admit that there are also 18+ people who also dont think clearly,i still believe that we should start letting 16-17 year olds take part in elections and let them know it is very serious then give them time to think if they would want to take part.
yes 16 yo’s should vote 🗳️ because Incase they see their mum 👩 but also it isn’t good because 16 year old can also get a little silly sometimes and a voting house isn’t for fun 🤩 so behave good so you don’t get told off 😡 so yeah 👍 anyways bye 👋 THANKS IF YOU ACCEPT IT TOPICAL TALK!
No, I think allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote may not improve the quality of the elections results. I say so because they will be influenced by others, especially the social media, through information that are very likely to be untrue and won't have a mind of their own. Sometimes, they want to vote candidates who are relations, because they are compelled by family members, not because the person is good or competent for that position.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Based on my assessments, members aged 16 and 17 should not be granted the opportunity to vote during elections. The reason I say this is because they are not yet adults. Ideally, adulthood begins at 18. At this age, individuals make independent decisions that seem right to them, and whatever decision they make affects the society either positively or negatively. Teenage exuberance may still exist is the age was lowered, some may vote candidates due to peer pressure and not based on who they know is right. Voting is one of the most important obligation of a citizen in a democratic society, it is a responsibility that shapes the future of our country. By keeping the voting age to be 18 and above secures the future of countries. I say this because it protects the seriousness of this right.
In the end, if the voting age is not lowered, it simply isn't exclusion. It simply is about responsibility. When we entrust the future of a nation to its voters, we must be ready to preserve its quality. Democracy is fragile and every vote counts to the betterment of a nation. Hasting the reduction of the voting age should not be a priority. It is best left for the adults.
THANK YOU!👌😊
I think that 16 year old should not be voting, because they are very young and might not have the knowledge. I also think someone might tell them what to do and what they think. Instead of their own opinion. And I think it will stand out in the world.
For me interesting cookie i think that allowing 16 yrs old can either improve elections or the other way round. Allowing teenagers to vote can never improve the way election goes because voting during election are met for adults and not for teenagers.
I think people who are 16-17 years old would not improve the elections because they are more easily influenced by influencers from social media because out of all age groups they use phones and any electronic to watch media then any other age group. Also, on social media their are many misleading posts or statements and the algorithm usually shows your views and no other ones.
I think 16+ should be able to able to vote because I believe that this would improve elections because younger people influence and are influenced by the world.
I disagree because people at that age are not fully mature and may be clueless. Teenagers being influenced by the world like you said is horrible because they have a blind path and opinion on certain people.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because they might influence other people to vote and they also might try to say bad things and their goal is to influence other people to vote for something wrong and not true.
Personally I think that younger people should be able to vote as it can make them more independent and aware of the issues around us . I know some people disagree but it would change the life for millions of people and inspire their hearts so they know what they are capable of doing for their community. The world has to allow others to help each other and make better decisions. Thank you.
I think we should because they may of just got something from the internet and the news which could help the people who are aloud to vote but it may put more pressure on the leaders but it will mean that it will have a bigger chance of the leaders you choose be chosen. Also if we let 16 vote there will be a bigger population of one leader even if you don’t get the one you want .
I wouldn’t want 16 or 17 olds to vote because they are more reckless, less wise! They would definitely follow people they know that can vote because they would trust them but really they should follow the internet because the world around use can tell use everything, now the internet has problems to but it should help.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year olds would improve elections because it would bring millions of more people in to vote. One reason for my opinion is that some people that aren’t allowed to vote can hear from people online who can vote so they can feel upset because they aren’t allowed to vote, so they cannot share their thoughts
I agree because it makes sense we need more people to vote and have there say.
I think 16-17 year olds would be aloud to vote because they are responsible and make good choices.
I think that 16’s should have their say in voting and generally speaking in things that they can’t do at the moment.over 1.200,000 young people will have their say.
Hi, I live in England and I think 16 to 17 year olds voting is going to improve elections because we will have more of people’s views on the people running the country
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years old to vote would not improve because if you are young then you don’t have the experience of all the hundreds of things that’s going on around the world.
they are strong arguments on letting them vote.
Hi placid_statement, can you tell us more about what those arguments are?
I think allowing all 16- and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because I believe they are mature enough and have access to information about politics. The reason for my view is adults believe that teenagers know nothing about politics and therefore should not be allowed to vote for their leaders, but here's the thing. 16- and 17-year-olds have access to almost all the information about politics they want or need to require them to vote. Also, 16- and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote because the leaders chosen also affect them.
This voting issue is a global problem some countries have already given 16 year olds the freedom to vote ( as stated in the subheading for this topic). In my opinion I think 16-17 year olds should be able to vote freely for various reasons I will say in the next paragraph.
Many sixteen-year-olds have their part in paying taxes whether it's to help their parents or if they are living in their own household so they should have a right to be able to decide who controls what happens with that money on the other hand,many argue that people who haven't become full adults aren't mature enough to vote but
While it's unclear whether having younger people vote will better or worsen the outcome we need to give them a chance to be able to have a say in what happens because that's their future.
I think that allowing 16 to 17 year olds to vote will not improve elections due to social media. Over the last election here in the UK a lot of the marketing was targetted towards Labour. They used a lot of meme marketing to encourage younger voters to vote for them. I don't think that it is a very efficient way to market as we essentially know nothing about what you stand for and things you would like to improve or change. You may be thinking how does meme marketing affect votes. But just simply looking at the commment section you can see people saying that they would vote for them, for the video alone. Regardless of if they were intending to vote for them or not, it sends out a message to politicians that we are easily influenced to vote, which can be true in some scenarios. I do not think that 16-17 year olds are not responsible, but I think that people should do more research when it comes to voting and I just don't think that will happen.
Allowing 16 -17 year old's to vote would not improve elections, because usually individuals around this are focused more on their GCSEs therefore wouldn't have the time, or care to vote. Furthermore, they are unable to understand the politics and consequences because they are minors.On the other hand, they should be able to vote because they could make right choices that could have a positive impact on society.
Hi, Topical Talkers! In Spain, the minimun age to vote is at the age of 18. As far as I am concerned, allowing 16 years old TEENAGERS go to elections would affect negatively the results.
At that age, most people are not prepared or mature enough to know what can benefit a country or themselves.
Misinfromation is the norm nowadays, given the fact that none of us are exempt from encountering it. Meaning that most teenagers aren't brainly developed yet to discern between biased news or verified ones. And it, inescapably, influences results in elections and the leaders that rule a country and make it flourish or not.
Owing to the fact that believe it or not, teens are easy and more likely to brainwash and manipulate, so their actual vote wouldn't be totally concious but controlled by others or the governors themselves.
In addition, as the head of Education and Digital Children's Rights at UNICEF Spain said:´If I don't have information, I cannot fully exercise my citizenship´
If you add this statement to the research of the Complutense University of Madrid: 70,3% of teens, read information from social media. And a 87% of adolescents is concious of the amount of misinformation they find in these websites but they don't make sure if the things they read are true or not.
Being aware of all this information, makes you conclude that permitting young people voting is putting the country's democracy in risk.
Even, I dare saying that in this day and age, most of the voters that are 18 years old, are not well-informed in order to vote and affect a whole nation.
Thank you so much!
No 16-17 year olds shouldn’t be able to vote because it will make a huge impact on the votes and it won’t help that TikTok and social media will make the 16-17 year olds choose someone from something they didn’t even do. People should be able to make their own decisions not letting TikTok and social media influence them for everything including convincing people to make horrible decisions
I think allowing them to vote is a bad idea because they could vote for the same type of person because their generations voted for that type. Also many of them won't be as interested as the eighteens and over. Plus if they wanted a person so badly they could make trends so it can go viral. This is what Google said, They can work, pay taxes and more so they can have a political say. And I quite agree. So tell me your thoughts and opinions. I would really appreciate.
I think allowing all 16-17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because they believe mostly what's on the internet. For example, when some famous content creator says, "You should vote for this person for the president!" They might actually vote for that person instead of their own opinion. They might also not know a lot about elections and what the person electing for president does. Instead of electing, they should learn more about elections at the age 16 or 17 to elect when they are 18. They would be able to know more about elections and presidents if they learn about presidents and elections at the age of 16 or 17.
I think allowing a 16-17 year old to vote wouldn't improve the elections. Most 16 and 17 would use social media to decide which politician to vote for. In my opinion, social media is full of fake news. It is easy to trick 16 and 17 year olds to vote for a politician. While they might be old enough to vote, their brain might not be developed fully to understand what is happening. Some 16 and 17 year olds don't really know about what is happening politically in their country. Some of them only care about social media and celebrity news. So I think 16 and 17 year olds should not vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because 16 and 17-year-olds know a lot. They could learn about elections on social media or even at school. One reason for my view is that when you are on social media, you see the news that everyone has been talking about lately. The news is repeated on social media , and social media could have facts that support the news. Another reason is when you are at school and people say that they have this information they found, you can find the information yourself and decide whether it is true or not. Your classmates can show you where they found the information, and they can provide proof. So I think 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote because they know where and how to find true information.
In my opinion, I feel like letting 16-17-year-olds vote isn't a great idea but that's because that age group is likely to be on the internet, meaning that they probably just copy off of people they see on the platform they look on. This impacts their voting choices because they'll just look and vote on the person they see or hear about the most. It also can impact the world around them in the future because the 16 or 17 year old may vote a person that doesn't really have a great reputation. Therefore, I think that letting 16-17 year olds vote would not improve the election, or any elections in the future.
I think that letting 16 and 17-year-olds to vote wouldn't improve elections because teens are easily lied to on social media and they believe it. Up to 95% of teens use social media and nearly all of social media is misleading, and when teens are always on the internet they can't easily determined between fake and real news. On "the74million.org" there was a study that found that 81% of teens believe the conspiracy and lies that are on social media this means that less than 30% of teens fact check facts, so which means that if a presidential candidate or someone that is on there says a lie about another candidate 81% of teens will believe it and not vote for that person.
I think 16 year olds should be allowed the vote as they already play a vital role in our sociality by woking , paying taxes, and making important decisions about life and excluding them despite these contribute is unfair . secondly 16 year olds are directly impacted by the decisions made by the government such as:education ,transportation , minimum wage and labor laws so they should have some control over the changes made to these things .lastly I think that it would help realise the bigger picture, and what a range of people want ,giving younger people a say in the future they are going to live in.
I think yes and the reason why is because that they are much mature and I know some aren't but still the ones who are are much intelligent and have excellent choices.Another reason why its not fair is that they can fight in the army.They may die but it is unfair because they work hard in training under hard circumstances but some how they cant have the rights to vote.That is stupid.Some also have oppurtunities to use a car but they still cant vote. They should have mature enough mind to vote because some have a good voice in front of people and are intelligent and those are the things you need most to exceed in elections and voting.
They should also vote because if you were about ten you would stutter around lots of people and that would be a very hard challenge but if you are 16 or 17 years you should be fine because they have more experience because some of them have done it before.The goverment should put an end to no 16 or 17 and let them speak out .Not to us but the whole world.They wouldn't get manipulated and they are clever enough to do this.Goverment should put an end to this madness
Letting 16 year olds vote make a lot of sense because they are already doing adult things like driving and paying taxes on their paychecks. since the government takes some of their hard earned money they should get a say in how it's spent. starting to vote while still in school helps teens build a strong habit of showing up that lasts their whole life. It is also their future on the line, especially when it comes to big issues like climate change or school safety. plus, research shows that by age 16, your brain is able to make choices like adults and young people bring fresh ideas to the table and notice problems in their neighborhoods that older people might ignore. Giving them a vote ensures that the people in charge actually listen to the generation that will live with their decisions the longest.
I believe allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote would not improve elections because at ages 16 to 17 your frontal lobe would be as developed as say for an 19 year old or 20 year old. Another reason why 16 to 17 year olds would not improve elections is 16 to 17 year olds are still teenagers and immature at that. The reason I believe that 16 to 17 year olds should not be able to vote is because they are gullible and could switch votes and could be exploited for votes.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years old would improve the elections because on average 16-17 years old intelligence is about 108 iq, also many 16-17 should share their opinion on who to vote too and who to elect. Mostly 16-17 are old enough to know about what is going on in their life. For example, 16-17 years old is old enough to understand the news, and they should also know about their surroundings. There are many countries like Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina that already have a voting age of 16, so I think that 16-17 years old should vote for elections. There also isn't much difference between a 16-17 year old and an 18 year old. Even if those 16-17 years old aren't smart enough there are still some 16-17 years old that would be able to know what is happening to them. If you allow an 18 year old to vote then you should allow a 16-17 year old to vote because they aren't that different in personality, intelligence, and ability. So overall I think 16-17 year old should be allowed to vote for many more reasons.
In my opinion, allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because they have not had enough experience and knowledge to determine who to vote for. Also they should not vote when they are in high school and ready to get to college ( if they are enrolled ) so they should be focusing on their schooling. But other people might disagree with me because they said lowering the voting age would maybe make a big difference, because the government can have more opinions from more people. In conclusion, allowing all teenagers at 16 and 17 year olds to vote is not a good idea.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote might improve elections because, if all 16 and 17-year-olds can vote, there will be more minds to contribute their input to the individual who will be elected.
I think that allowing all 16-17 year olds to vote would improve the voting system. I think everyone should have a chance to voice their opinion about what they believe. What better way to do this than by placing a vote. I think this because all people, even 16-17 year olds can get real and not biased information on trusted sites rather than social media. I also think young people should be able to vote for their future. Letting 16-17 year olds vote will help them to take more responsibility for their future. What's your opinion on if 16-17 year olds should vote or not?
I think allowing all 16-17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it would be fairer and more accurate because it would increase the amount of people voting. One reason for my view is because age is only a number and many 16-17 year old are often very mature because theyhave to make serious decisions about exams, jobs and careers. Overall, I think 16 and 17 year olds should be given permission to vote.
In my opinion, I think that the age that voting starts at (18+) should stay the same. Why? you may be wondering. Well, it's because teenagers nowadays are really immature well most of them. so what if while they're voting they come in with a friend group of 6 people but before they came they came with an idea. They can come up with a very bad plan to vote for the candidate that they know for sure won't be a good president as a joke, . But what if one or some of them were a child or a family member of an immigrant and they had voted for trump. Now guess what imagine those six votes were the only reason trump had won the election. So now some of those people in that friend group probably got one of their family members got taken away because of their stupid idea that was supposed to a funny little joke. Guess it wasn't so funny after all. This is why we should only allow 18+ to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because they will mostly pick the right candidate to lead the country because since they have a lot of screen time and they can mostly find what is real and what is fake. but most adults don't really know how to tell if it's fake or not.if you show your mom or dad something that was made from AI they will believe it because it looks really realistic. But if you show it to a 16-17 year old they can tell if it's fake or AI because they've seen it lots of times, so if they
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because they will mostly pick the right candidate to lead the country because since they have a lot of screen time and they can mostly find what is real and what is fake. but most adults don't really know how to tell if it's fake or not.if you show your mom or dad something that was made from AI they will believe it because it looks really realistic. But if you show it to a 16-17 year old they can tell if it's fake or AI because they've seen it lots of times, so if they
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because they will mostly pick the right candidate to lead the country because since they have a lot of screen time and they can mostly find what is real and what is fake. but most adults don't really know how to tell if it's fake or not.if you show your mom or dad something that was made from AI they will believe it because it looks really realistic. But if you show it to a 16-17 year old they can tell if it's fake or AI because they've seen it lots of times, so if they
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because they will mostly pick the right candidate to lead the country because since they have a lot of screen time and they can mostly find what is real and what is fake. but most adults don't really know how to tell if it's fake or not.if you show your mom or dad something that was made from AI they will believe it because it looks really realistic. But if you show it to a 16-17 year old they can tell if it's fake or AI because they've seen it lots of times, so if they
I believe that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote could improve elections. This is because it helps them start to think how a responsible person would vote making them more mature, and makes a government based on how everybody feels in the United States. When a 16 and 17 year old votes it is giving them experience and could make them more responsible. It gives them a head start of how an adult should behave. It improves how they decide to do things including elections. The government is created by the people who elect leaders to talk for all the people. It should be decided by everybody. That way teens feel included and learn how to make right decisions for the United States. In conclusion, I think that 16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote.
I think 16-17 year olds should help choose a leader for reasons such as if they are already allowed to do adult things like drive they should have enough responsibility to vote to they should have the right to vote their leaders to sometimes they choose class presidents that shows they are capable of voting other leaders to and them choosing class presidents might want them to vote for the rest of their life and social media might have good reasons to vote a person and influence 16 to 17 year olds and they are widely on social media so they might even have good reasons to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because some teenagers can make unintelligent decisions and follow what the internet says which can be a negative for them. One reason for my view is because even though 16 and 17-year-olds may look mature, they are not as mature as you think. They can make unintelligent decisions like for example they might just shoplift because of a bet for one thousand dollars, that is not very mature. An adult on the other hand, will just politely decline doing that by knowing they can go to jail for that. When voting, yes, everyone's voice needs to be heard, but when thinking voting is just a joke it could make a big impact on the world. For instance, that a teen was going to vote, they are just scrolling on their phone when they see a video that says, "Vote for this guy, he is definitely going to be an amazing president. " Now, the teen will obviously vote for him because they think he will be a good president. Little does he know that he will ruin the world by putting people in jail for being of a different race. In an article we read in class, it states that the brain doesn't officially grow to adulthood until the age of 25. So, that means that the brain wouldn't know how to make the best decisions until the age of 25. In conclusion, this is why I think that 16 and 17-year-olds shouldn't vote at a young age like that.
In my opinion, I believe that 16-17-year-olds would improve elections because it adds more opinions into the votes. This age group of citizens can expand the ballet box and improve our nation. The cause of lowering the age rate for voting could help our nation to vote for the right leaders. More young ages should have a say because older ages can sometimes be misled which can lead to the wrong leader being elected. Right now, older ages that are seen as adults are sometimes making the wrong choices. Some votes can be good, and some can be bad, but this age group is helping support our future. Making a change for the better.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to engage in voting alongside other voters to vote a candidate would not improve elections because 16 and 17 year olds are easily manipulated, they can have bias, and because they're easily affected by their parents.
They're still quite young, so shaping their minds is fairly easy. And a lot of candidates do use manipulation or false promises to get elected, and a 16 or 17 year old would definitely not think twice before voting.
People around that age are also very affected by social media platforms, specifically content creators. Their favorite creator may think to vote for this candidate, and the teenager will also vote for them because of their idol's influence. This is dangerous, as it can limit creative thinking, and not care what the best President is for their community, all because of the influencer.
They're still somewhat around their parents or still remembering them. If their parents say they would vote for candidate A, the teen may be scared of punishment from their parents if they don't also vote candidate A, though deep inside they want to vote for candidate B.
In conclusion, I believe the addition of 16 and 17 year olds to the act of voting would not improve it because their young age can be exploited, they have unfair initial thoughts that limit thinking, and are easily influenced by their idols.
In my opinion allowing all 16 and 17-year- olds to vote would improve elections because 16 and 17 year olds know a lot of information of stuff so when they vote they would make the right decision since they got a lot of information from online. Another reason is that 16 and 17 years old they are not old enough to be tricked like older people. 16 and 17 years olds are smart. One example of this is when one of my classmates said that people that are 60+ years old can get tricked and they can mishear things. The last reason is that 16 and 17 years old are responsible some 16 and 17 years old have jobs and I think they would take things serious so I think they would make a good choice.
Hello Topical talkers,I am tenacious_piccolo! I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because they might be mature enough and pick a bad candidate. One reason for my view is that some 16-17 year old people goof around and make bad decisions for almost everything. Also they might just pick candidates other people around them did. Another reason is that they'll just pick whatever they want and not think about what that candidate does or what's the benefit of them. They might also not even vote and answer with nothing on there! Although if they get mature 16 and 17-year-olds then that would benefit elections because they pick the right decisions and don't goof around like the others. For example they would be calm and know much more about the candidates. They will also know that they shouldn't copy other people around them. In conclusion this is what I think about 16 and 17-year-olds joining the election would be good and also bad, Bye fellow topical talkers.
In my opinion, allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve the election because some 16 and 17-year-olds don't know or sometimes don't pay attention to the economic situation of the world and how our nation's new leader will improve the economic situation of the world. The reason why I say this is that some teenagers who are 16 and 17 sometimes don't act mature enough to take the election seriously and pick the right leader for our nation to be well-protected. So in conclusion, I feel 16 and 17 year olds shouldn't vote because not all 16 and 17 year old take the election nor the way our nation is doing seriously.
I strongly believe allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote wouldn't improve elections because they only focus on their opinion(most likely) and they wouldn't even look at the other choice or dig more deeper about their choice. For example, in the election for president, Donald Trump gave his speech and all and Kamala Harris did her's too. But the teenagers would only hear from Donald Trump if they only wanted that person to get elected president. On the other hand, adults would typically look through both of their speeches and see their past doings before going to the elections. This means teenagers only focus on the opinion they want, not even trying to counterclaim for reasoning if they had to explain. What I'm saying is teenagers only pay attention to their wants, meaning they really aren't quite ready to vote in elections. This is why I believe this statement.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because sometimes they could be immature by choosing the wrong leaders. One reason for my view is because if you are 16 and you choose a leader that has a better look they could cause trouble and be mean to you. Also, they can hurt others around the world like how President Donald Trump declared war on Venezuela. This shows that he is unhinged and wants to hurt others even though they didn't do anything to other people. Also, this can hurt innocent people around the globe too. For instance, lets say there is a post on your phone that says "Vote for Him!" and then it says "No, Vote for her because she will lower taxes!" and if you choose the person that will do nothing, this could show that he will just hurt everyone around the world. According to Simply Psychology it stated "The prefrontal cortex usually finishes developing around the age of 25." This shows that your brain could stop growing at this age. In conclusion, this is why 16 and 17-year-olds could choose the wrong leaders around the world. What is your opinion about 16 and 17-year-olds across the globe.
I think allowing every 16-17 year olds to vote would improve and would not because some 16-17 year olds are good at picking what's right but most of them make bad choices. Some 16-17 year olds also have to rely on their parents when making choices. I say this because some 16-17 year olds are mature to vote, some 16-17 aren’t fully developed in their brain making this one of the reasons for their bad choices. If I had to pick one though, it wouldn’t improve and the reason I say this is because 16-17 year olds aren’t the same making awful decisions but the government wouldn’t just pick the good 16-17 year olds, so they should stay with not allowing every 16-17 year olds to vote. To conclude this is my opinion about letting 16-17 year olds vote.
Hello, I'm straightforward_eel from Metro Atlanta in Georgia. I think allowing people who are 16 and 17 to vote would not be a good idea, and wouldn't improve elections because of their maturity. Many people who are 16 or 17 are not fully mature like adults, which could cause them to make poor decisions. Studies show that most people who are not yet 25 do not show signs of making great decisions like people who have practically become fully mature, grown adults. This is most likely because of the brain development, or just the brain in general. Also, teenagers often have a habit of being on their devices, like phones, tablets, or computers, way too much! During political votes, there are way too many ads online! This could really change what people, especially younger people vote. People who are 18 already change their votes because of things online, imagine people two years younger than that! Not only are there people spreading news virtually, but in real life too! I can almost guarantee you if you went outside during an election, you'd find signs, billboards, and even protesters trying to persuade random people to vote for what the advertiser or protester wants. Their mental resilience is weak, and powerless. However, of course, everyone's maturity varies, but still, I feel like it would make elections slightly worse.
I believe that giving the vote to all 16 and 17-year-olds would be an improvement to elections because it would make them more representative of the people that the decisions affect. Many political decisions, such as education, climate change, and the economy, will affect young people more in the future, so it would only make sense for them to have a say in them.
First of all, many 16 and 17-year-olds are already well-informed and responsible. They learn about citizenship and politics in school, stay up to date on the news on social media, and talk about issues that they care about. Giving them the vote would also encourage them to vote for the rest of their lives because people who vote when they are young tend to vote for the rest of their lives.
Including 16 and 17-year-olds in the vote could make elections fairer, more progressive, and more relevant to the next generation.
Do you think that 16 year olds should be able to vote?In my opinion I believe that 16 year olds should not be able to vote.One reason why I say that 16 year olds should not have the chance to vote is because the human mind develops at 25. A 16 year old’s brain is not fully developed yet meaning that they might make a bad decision. For example think of the average 16 year old,the average 16 year old spends most of their time on social media. Social media can delay emotional reactions this leads to high stress levels. My point is that most 16 year olds are stressed due to spending most of their time on social media so they shouldn't be stressed about political problems but on better things like college and learning how to drive a car.A 16 year old should be enjoying their lives as a kid instead of political problems. people that are 16 turn 18 in two years they can wait to vote. In conclusion this is why 16 year olds shouldn't be able to vote.
I think 16 and 17-year olds would not improve elections because age groups of 18 years are considered adults becuse that is the age they can be fully responsible under the law. Althought age groups of 16 are allowed to vote in some countries such as; Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and so on and so forth. Another reason why 16 year age groups should not be allowed to vote isbecause 18 year age groups have had more expierienc in things like jobs and taxes and most especially have a better understanding of how government have an effect in daily life, they also have had more time for their brain to develop and more time to learn and understand all these things.
I think allwing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote could both improve and challenge elections. Many teenagers already care about issues like education, climate change and future jobs because these things affect their lives directly. Giving them the chance to vote might feel them included and encourage them to take democracy seriously from and early age.
However, not all teenagers are independent in their thinking. Some may be influenced by their parents' opinions. Also a few young people might focus on one idea they like and ignore the other important points.
Overall, lowering the voting age could give many young people a voice, but it should be supported by better political education so their choices are thoughtful.
Bye-bye
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote can improve elections because it would make democracy more equal and more inclusive. One reason for my view is that many political decisions affect young people directly, such as education, public transport, and the environment, so they deserve a voice. However,many young people are not well informed, so they can be harmful to the well-being of others.
I am in the middle because i think that 16+ should be able to vote as they should be able to say a little bit to who leads our country as they are probrually mature enough and wont be silly as they are 16 and probrually should be able to say alittle bit about who leads our country especially 17 year olds.
But i also don't think that they shouldn't be able to vote as they probrually will just coby who their friends are voting for or who their perants/family embers vote for.
so i am in the middle.
I agree because... if we are 17 or 16 they can copy other peoples opinions and then it will be unfair because you should stay with your own opinions because if other people think different you should stick with your decision
I think allowing 16 an 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because they are not enough prepared to take such an important decision. One reason for my view is they are still too young for this.
Some of them are more informed about politics than other young people but even so I would leave this responsability to the adults. It is important to know who are you voting for and perhaps 16 and 17-year-olds are not sufficiently aware of this issue.
Furthermore, I think young people can be more influenced for making their decisions. It is good to take into account the problems of others because apart of thinking about your own aim and necessities you may also think about the consequances of your actions in others, but, without taking away you own opinion and thinking about your situation. It is fine to be influenced but I think that young people would be influenced by the people around them or by social media and that they would not think clearly enough.
16 and 17 year olds are still young and might not have the knowledge about big decision making and they might vote based on feelings because they don't have life experience to take decisions or make choices.
16-17 year olds should not vote because they are still in school learning about leadership, but instead of them thinking about voting they should focus on their studies.
I think 16+ should vote, as they are part of the future and can bring in important views.
We are the future. Look at the state of the world; environmental crises, collapsing democracy, war. This is what generations before us have left us with, and we can't even vote on who we want to try and fix it. This state is due to the older generations not planning or caring about the future. So, as passionate young people, we should be allowed to elect our leaders.
Younger people in general have already started making changes. NYC has a youthful population and elected Mamdani as their mayor, who is looking to actually make a change. If the millions of 16/17 yr olds could vote, every city or country could be equally progressive.
Is it really democracy, if everyone who is at a voting level is not voting? There is a minor maturity gap between 16 and 18; those few million votes from younger people could quite literally change the world. Why are we preventing those passionate and mature enough from participating? Think about all of the children communicating on this site. We can clearly think for ourselves, and formulate our own opinions. So why should we not be allowed to contribute?
There is this idea of children being too easily influenced, but we actually have access to the most information and have the most free speech in political history. In many ways we could compare preventing 16+ from voting to minority groups or women from not voting. As I said before, democracy has to take all of our beliefs into account. The bottom line is, its our future, and we deserve a voice.
In my opinion, allowing 16-17 year olds to vote could work in both ways.
One of the ways that will improve elections is that by letting them vote we can reach out to other people who do not get to say there own words in society and the people would not only get to stand up for themselves ,but also for children that are affected by the ways the government operates in life. I do not think it is fair that even though children or teens are affected by the way the government works, they still don’t get to vote for what they have to say in their country.
We should all respect that everyone lives in this world and we should be able to vote for what we think.
I also think think that this is a perfect age to be to vote because this is when you get to start life and life is very challenging. When you are this age, you are more open to the world and need to know the value of things and how to react to things so that you are prepared for what is yet to come when you’re officially an adult. This is a great opportunity to let 16 and 17 year olds start a new chapter in their career by making choices and opinions in votes.
Moving forward to my next opinion, I thought that letting young adults vote can also have a bad impact to them in their studies , for this is the stage where they start university and college.
If we let them vote today, it will very much affect their future occupation in life where they will regret taking this new leap.
Over all , I think that both sides of the discussion are very important in different ways and none are right or wrong.
Bye Topical Talkers
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years olds to vote would improve because, boys and girls want a good future for themselves, they supposdley has a whole life ahead of them, and mybe older people dont think in the same way because for thme, the waythey lived before was the best, and is not the case. One reason for my view is my grandfather says if things were like they used to be better, and my mother say the oposite. Sometimes the best things is for young people todoy to choose their own fyture and how the want to live.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years olds to vote would not improve elections because with that age we don´t know all about elections, politics etc. One reason for my view is that at this age people don´t have critical thoughts, they are influenced by what they see on social media, or by the thoughts of the people they surround, so, they don´t have their own opinion.
Also people around this ages should be focused on their studies and enjoy.
On the other hand, this doesn´t leave the idea that they should gradually developed autonomy and start making their own decisions, know how to take responsability for the consequences that they might have in life, and learn to become little by little more responsible.
I think that maybe allowing people younger than 18 couldn´t be a good idea, because with that age our ideas are constantly changing, many of us we just think what other people make us to think and not exactly what we really think. Furthermore, with 16-17 years old is really easy to lie us, because our minds doesn´t think on that kind of things and for us there are more important things like hobbies or our own future. I think another reason why I ´m disagree with this idea, could be that young people sometimes do silly thinks just to feel better than the rest, so maybe that kind of people are not enough mature to have those responsabilities, because the hole country would need to pay the consequences (the leader would not be choose just by those people who think there are funny, but sometimes elections are really similar of votes between the contestans and those votes could make the difference.)
To conclude, for me is definility a horrible idea which would make that things go worst than now.
I think allowing all 16-17 year olds to vote would improve elections because whatever the age people are, their views still shaped by social media or the people around them. People see something very influential and change their views, it's no matter with ages. young people also have rights to participate and votes.
I think it depends because in one part, young people (16 and 17-years-olds) need o have an opinion and need to decide things to, many of our rights/laws are for them so I thing they can also take part of deciding them. In the other hand, some young people dont care of our leaders or are not well informed about politics. They are also very influence by others, because maybe they dont have a total head madurity , also they can thing false news or notices and change their vote. In some cases young people are going to believe what their fathers or friends said and they are going to vote according to what they said and what they really thing. So I thing the year of voting is good in our country, but I thing young people can decide also some thing that are not very important or determinating for our city.
Many people assume that teenagers are more susceptible to misinformation found on the internet, that is not correct. Anyone, of any age, can be tricked by false information and fibs that are spread like wild fire through the media. Especially with the rise of AI videos and voice recordings, it can be difficult to tell the difference between fact and fiction. If anything, teenagers are more tech-savvy and have been conditioned to question everything they come across because they are constantly online and constantly seeing new content, which has 'trained' them to ask 'is this real?'. I'm sure a lot of children have experienced their parents sending them a clearly AI videos and saying something along the lines of; "What are they feeding these cats now-a-days that they can dance like this?" or "See, wearing that mini skirt will give you more wrinkles!". This isn't to say adults are more stupid than teenagers on the internet, it's to say that anyone can be misled by content spread on social media. Some teenagers might not be mature enough to distinguish between reality and fantasy, but there are also adults who aren't mature either. So, the argument that teenagers are not mature enough to vote because they are so easily influenced by social media, can be easily poked at because adults can be immature and vulnerable on the internet as well, but are still allowed to vote.
A great use of examples to support your point. If misinformation is so problematic across generations, what do you think should be done to stop it?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not impruve elections because they are much more influenced by social media than older people. The problem with social media is that people often believe what is said on it, and whether it is a good or bad masage about someone it can be extended very fast. Fake news are often provoque by a rumor that someone belive and it exposed to others, that migh think is true and will also send it to others. So at first the anounce might feel little credible for you, but when you recive the same news from several people you will think it is true even it doesn´t have a reliable source. This may cause problems while choosing a leader because you might think wronly about the campaigns you are choosing or the ones you descarted for a lider. Also in social media there is a problem with which conten or masage is more shown than others, because some of them, due to algorithms, are more shown because of the vews it has recived and the tipe of content you are used to see or just ramdomly apeer. This cause a big disadvantage to the rest of campaigns that were not shown due to the strange criteria social media uses.
I think 16-17 is a good age to start voting in elections because they can think deeply on serious problems and many people have skills where it could be 'how do we solve a lot of problems from school' and also, they have been learning social studies, this subject includes deep topics about voting and elections so there are many sources that can be linked to this.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-years-old to would not improve elections, because people of this age can be highly influenced by Social media apps for example Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram to mention a few of them. One of them Tiktok, is an app where most of the young people uses their free time making very easy to influence by giving not real information through the videos and that might change their opinion. In addition, people of this age normally live with their parents so they could be easily influence by their opinion although it cannot be the best for the country. Instead, I think it would be better that during this ages they are teach in classes about politics and how to avoid fake information. By this way they would be able to not be influence during their first time voting at an elections.
Hy, I'm enchanted cammel.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote wouldn't improve the elections.
From my point of view, teenagers don't have the maturity enough to decide about their future and what is better for them and for their surroundings. Perhabs of being only one or two years younger than 18-year-olds, I think that the youth shoud focus mostly on studying, finding a job or building a better future for themselves, rather than voting on something that most of them nearly don't know about.
I assume that not all the teens do not have the same thoughts, ideas or maturity. Probably, many of the 16 and 17-year-olds are more prepared to vote than a proper adult, however, we don't know who has the maturity enough and who does not. As a result, I think we mustn't allow anyone below 18 to vote.
To sum up, it seems to me that if we allowed teens to participate on the elections, most of them would vote to the most popular politician in social nteworks. For this reasons, allowing them to vote wouldn't improve the elections, to my mind.
What might be some of the disadvantages of voting based only on information found on social media?
Some of the disadvantages of voting based on information found on social media could be, for example, that young people would vote whatever convinces them the most, although it is not completely true. I do not know for sure if in other countries this also happens, but from my perspective, in Spain, most of the politicians focus only on publishing things which are not important, that only entretain people, and stuff which is not important, rather than to make desicions that will afterwards afect all of us as a country. Most of the people might disagree with me, but I completely think that this is the truth.
Some of the disadvantages of voting based on information found on social media could be, for example, that young people would vote whatever convinces them the most, although it is not completely true. I do not know for sure if in other countries this also happens, but from my perspective, in Spain, most of the politicians focus only on publishing things which are not important, that only entretain people, and stuff which is not important, rather than to make desicions that will afterwards afect all of us as a country. Most of the people might disagree with me, but I completely think that this is the truth.
I think 16-17 should vote because if they have a reason and they need decision to if the president made law and 16-17 year olds don’t like the law they have a chance to speak .
I agree that 16-17 year olds should be able to vote since they can watch the news and learn about what is going on in the world . So that means 16-17 year olds should have there Own Opinion about what is going on
I think children who are 16 and 17 should be able to vote because it would improve the voting and my reason is that it will be a way higher chance everyone will be more accurate and people won’t persuaded others to vote for the other party . Also if 16 and over vote the will be a bigger decision but they will need to answer properly and not just vote for a random party that they have seen on the internet or they may of voted for the wrong president for the country and if they choose the wrong country they will have the worst president possible. Every 16 and 17 year old children may vote for the right one only because of their family or their religion and it may lead to a bad or good outcome, also it is a bit unfair that only 18 are aloud to vote because I know that 18 are officially adults but 16 and 17 need a chance because they may vote for the right one because of there family .
I agree because... it could make voting fair and they could ask their parents to help them vote
I agree with you that 16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote. Have you heard this statement before practice make perfect? You won't expect someone to win a game or a championship if they never practice? I believe when 16 and 17 year olds participate they get to practice citizenship while still in school. This will spark up discussions in class which might help them tell the difference between good promise and fake news and as they get older, they will become expert voters. To learn how exactly how a process works you have to be part of it, so when they participate, they can learn how to register, carry our research on the candidate and most especially know that their voice matters.
Allowing them to vote can be one way to train them to become leaders of tomorrow, this might give them a good knowledge and understanding of the process. Who knows through this process who might become a future leader or president. In some countries people don't wait to be 18 before they can drive, they get a driver's permit so they can practice how to drive safely, so voting at 16 might just a be way to getting this permit, this will enable them learn about the road that leads to good governance.
I think that everyone should have a go to participate so they know more about the world and so they would be able to see what is happening. Although it is important that they know what they are doing. So I suggest that they should search up what to do, or they should ask an adult that truly knows how to vote. It could help the world as well as their communities. We can inspire people to vote but everyone will have to agree and work together. Allowing people to vote can make a change for are world that’s why I think younger people should vote.
I agree because... by this way, the youth can learn how to vote, why to vote and how necessary voting is in our community. I don't have much to say but I think this is the best way to allow the young teenagers to explore know more about the world around us. Thanks.
I think allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because there still young and they would just copy there friends and then it wouldn’t be fair 😤
Allowing more young people to participate in the parliament process would help not only there communities but their country and their state.The world is having flabbergasting problems that only we can fix .
I believe that younger people can participate to change the hearts and minds of others.
Young adults can fix things only if we believe in them and inspire others to do the same . We can make this choice ! We can change the world ! Only if we try . Thank you.☺️
well i partly disagree with you because of a saying ' actions speak louder and word
you say this because we all think not excluding my self that the youths are better
those without backbones I remember when my teacher told me that ' he who doesn't allow his mother to sleep will not sleep' if we could do everything by ourselves then why didn't we feed ourselves when we were still small or learn how to craw or walk this was done by the people we call without a backbone if we could do all this then why did we join the topical talk festival, was it not to correct one bad character or the other I agree to your point of doing things by ourselves but this we can't do without support so in other for under 18 to be able to make a right decisions parents should educate their children about politics and the world around us frome their young age
i would love to hear your opinion and view thanks
I think allowing 16-17-year-olds to vote would improve and not improve elections because then we would have way more votes which could make some good decisions but the bad side is that people may not use there opinion and instead they would find it on any sort of social media.One reason for my view is that I think people that are 16-17 is not a good age to vote so I think people over 18 is best.
I disagree because... I don’t think this is okay
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote might improve and might not improve elections because some 16 and 17 year olds are very mature and very sensible but some are silly things and if they vote for silly things the country could get in danger.
I think that letting 16 and 17 year olds join voting is a bad idea because these people are still learning and need understand the concept of money. Also they might vote for a candidate that the other people don’t won’t that person to be voted for and that might change everything and now one wonts that to happen.Bye
I think 16 to 17’s should have more responsibility’s so it will teach them how to vote properly and so they should have more control over what they do
what sort of responsibilities do you think it would be important for them to have?
Hello Topical Talkers!
I think allwing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote could improve elections, but only if it's handled carefully. Many teenagers already care about issues like education, climate change and future jobs because these decisions will affect them for many years. Giving them the right to vote could make them feel trusted and more responsible instead of feeling ignored.
However, it would be unrealistic to say that all teenagers are fully independent thinkers. Some may be influenced by their parents' veiws, while others might vote based on one idea they liked without considering the whole picture.
Overall, lowering the voting age could strengthen democracy by including young voices,but it should be supported by better political education so those voices are informed.
Bye_♥
I think allowing all 16 and 17-years-old to vote would improve elections because teenagers at this age have absolute mental capacity and mature to know what do they think, also, most of them have already investigated about politics even if they are not allowed to vote, but the politics are everywhere now and teenagers are hearing about them one way or another and I think that they are mature enough to think about their own opinion. One reason for my view is that a big part of teenagers lredy have good arguments to say why they think one party or another would be best for the country but they are always being silenced because of the people who say "You are not old enough o understand" even if they have good reasons and had investigate from different sources that are not only internet, and normally they say it because adults think that there is only a valid opinion (Which is normally their own opinion) but in politics there not good or bad sides, it only depends on the person's mentality; teenagers are always being see as younger people who doesn't know about politics because they "have not lived enough", their vote would improve elections because we could see how the younger people's mind work and how they receive the information and can get another point of view that are not only from adults, we know that part of the teenagers change their mentality because of what they see on social media and actually belive everything that one people say, but also adults are getting influenced by social media too, so we cannot say that only teenagers are the affected ones.
I agree because 16-17 year olds will still be new to this and they could start messing around and not help deside
I think you can vote at any age because you just can it your decision to take it or leave it.
can you explain your thinking in more detail?
I think that the 16 and 17s can vote it means they have a chance to say there truth.
i think allowing 16-17 year old to vote would improve elections because it would allow more young people to vote and hear their opinions and show them what 16-17 year old want due to only 18-20 year old voting. I think its unfair because they have to wait a certain age to express their opinions and thoughts about who they wanna vote as a leader or etc. i could see why people would disagree with my comment due to 16-17 year old not being mature enough and their brains have not fully developed but i highly disagree with them because we could hear more from 16-17 year old about everyone else`s decisions this is my opinion so please reply to me if you do disagree with me by inspiring_seagull. :)
I think 16 year old's can vote because in there generation they have higher technology like tiktok whatsapp and lots more meanwhile if your 60 or over you would of had older stuff
Why do you think the technology is important?
16 and 17 year old's are way too young to vote as they get influenced in bad ways way more easily and some people in their 20's may post stuff online that is their opinion and not say so , so then younger people will think it is what they are like and vote another person who is worse than the first person.
I don't think that they should allow 16 and 17 year old people because most of them are still in secondary school and still watch many social media and still do stupid things and I think that people that are over 18 and should just do their own opinion because if they just listen to the people on tiktok the world would be in magar trouble.
I do think that sixteen year old's should vote because they are experienced with AI and other smarty techs. Young people are the next generation and should vote as well as older people. On the other hand, they could get sucked in the internet and find false information about very good candidates.
i think that letting 16-17 vote is not improved because people can be doing something or like making a tiktok and someone like 60 could be saying weird stuff to young people it could be dangerous and not safe.letting them vote would cause something that dose not need to be caused .
I disagree with this statement because young people are prone to tricks . I also belive their should be a max voting age
i think that old people should run the contry 40/50 year olds because they know more things and they wont mess around but on the other hand i think younger peole like 20/18 because they have grew up with new and better knowlage,like older people are smart but younger people know a bit more they also get infomashon from the intonet wich sometimes is wrong.
Personally I think that some 16 year olds need to mature because some members of parliament are inappropriate or rude to other people so they need to know and learn who to vote for.
Letting 16-17s vote has come to this lesson of topica talk so I think it should be allowed and here is why I think this.
They can have so many new chances in life and it could be so cool to do something adults do and finally be a part of it
I have two reasons.
I agree because i think its fair that younger people can vote because although adults might have a better choice some younger people might want to pick someone to run their country that they live in. They also are on social media more witch makes them have more knowledge with voting as it would be all over the internet.
Another opinion is that maybe its a bad idea because on social media there will be people trying to persuade the younger generation to vote for the person who they want to run the country. There can also be some of the people that are being voted for on the internet and make it seem like they are good to run the country when they might not be.
most 16-17 year old people should have some parental advice because if it's their first time they should have advice because their parents have done it before and they will feel more confident
i think they should because politics are all over youtube and the eldely do not go on youtube
no because i don't think 16 years old should vote because they might vote for inappropriate votes so that's just my opinion
i think 16 year olds should vote as if they can have a job they should be able to vote
i think every country should do 16 and 17 year old's because it could effect their future life style and voting can help them become more mature and have brilliant future also in school they should start to learn about discrimination and see if there is any politics online .
No because 16 years old might be inappropriate with there vote, but if 25 or 40 years old people vote they are older and they know more because when you are 16 you still have to learn a bit more so i think 25 or 40 years old people should vote. :)
I agree and disagree at the same time because I think young people should have a say in society, for example, you cannot change something you don't like since you do not have a choice until you're 18, but if voting age was lowered to 16, much more people could express their own opinions. However, I disagree as well because when you're 16, you're still a teenager and can be affected by other people's opinions on social media like TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat. Additionally, even most of the adults don't know what they are voting about and letting a teenager vote can lead to anxiety and pressure, for example, in Australia it is illegal to not vote and you will be put on criminal offender list if you do not.
I think 16 year olds should help choose leaders because arguments for 16-year-olds helping to choose leaders focus on their maturity, the direct impact of political decisions on their future, and the fostering of long-term civic engagement. As they already shoulder adult responsibilities. In my opinion i think 16 year olds will elect a strong and skillful leader. Democratic engagement can only be considered a good thing and to be encouraged. I'm fully supportive of giving votes to 16 year olds. THANK YOU
I think no, because the prefrontal cortex, which controls decision-making, is not fully developed until around 22 to 25. Also, a 16- or 17-year-old is still a teenager (13 to 19), so they shouldn’t choose leaders yet.
Thanks for reading
whilst your fact about development of the prefrontal cortex may be worth considering, people can do a variety of other things before the age of 22-25, such as be employed, join the armed forces or pay taxes. Is it right that they should not be able to vote if they can do these things?
In my opinion, 16- or 17-year-olds shouldn’t choose leaders yet. The main reason is that their brain is still developing, especially the prefrontal cortex, which controls decision-making and thinking about consequences. This part of the brain doesn’t fully develop until around 22 to 25 years old. yes they can make this before 25 but not important thing like this. At 16 or 17, teenagers are still learning how to plan ahead, think carefully, and deal with complicated situations. They can easily be influenced by emotions, friends, or trends, which makes it hard to make big decisions that affect everyone. For example, even choosing what subject to study or what team to support can be tricky at this age, so deciding on leaders is even more complicated. That’s why I believe young teenagers should wait a few years until they are more mature and experienced before taking part in such important choices.
This is make my opinion more clear.
I think 16 year olds should be aloud to vote beacuse if an 18 year old can vote that is not really fair on the younger children who cannot vote
No I would not let 16 and 17 year-old to vote and I would upper the age to 20 and higher because some 18 will be at university or college and older people know more and more to Think I’m going to search up what these people are like and who they are what they like to do. And then I would then they would vote and they would pick their and it might be the better one because they actually searched it up and 1816s and 17 would be too much into TikTok. I know we’re just listen to other people and like choose one that would want to start war
I think allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would not improve the election as they might not know what they are doing as they are still growing and their brains are still developing. They would get really confused and at the same time not know what they are doing as they would have to do plenty of studies about the people they want to vote. it would be a bad idea to let people who are still growing and really young join the election. If you were to allow 16 yr olds join the election they might just vote someone random because someone else is or just because they don’t know who to elect.
Yes because it will make the voting fair and young people like 16 and 17 will research about the MPs and they will know who to choose Also who agrees with me
I think it’s only fair if 16year olds are aloud to join the voting beacuse if the older people are only aloud it that’s not really fair
I think not allowing 16-17 year olds is OK since that they are young, as 18 and over can know more about elections so they can choose the person they want. Also, people should keep that 18 age right. If people could vote at any age, then there will be to much votes and not enough prime ministers or presidents. So, as 60 plus had have many elections in their life and, not talking age vote but nobody should lie about their age so 17 and less should not vote.
No because sometimes they will be all confident about who there going to choose but they won’t know they might be choosing the wrong leader even though they are not that old if they chose they might mess up the entire voting system
Definitely of the number so you could vote cause if you the children could easily make a good decision I don’t know what they’re doing but if they knew what they are doing, we might make things right and inspire people or what’s the right things paragraphs the president think about the president and then it would make the right decisions of what’s right like if someone says you know you should vote for this person. No you should. You should do your own thing because ones if they’re actually ones if you voted for them and then it made it was the bad decision of what you made please don’t listen to anyone else. You should listen to yourself because it’s not. You might be side of what you have picked cause then if so if the president what they’re going to do but you might like see you then you should trust your own or should do yourself otherwise the people that you have put will be the wrong person in your hair in good time cause then it’s the right thing to do if not you should listen to someone else else you feel confident like your best friend to your mum. Is your dad even your Nan and grandad and then if you don’t you might have the wrong decision decision decision tonight and then the world one change your whole world and then and then tonight everyone should pick that one but instead is the wrong person for that just and trustworthy in that Irish were trustworthy in that like all the countries Ireland Scottish of Wales it would be all the and then wanted to listen to each other, even in the way that it shouldn’t been changed like all the life and all the same time 😍😚
I think allowing 16-17year olds will make a bigger impact to our voting because I think we should be increasing in it up to 20 to 21 ish so the human mind is fully grew because the 16,17 and 18 year olds still don’t know that much about politics so in my opinion we should probably be increasing it 🫶🏻
Thank you x
I agree because if you are 17/16 you are you are Technically an adult and be able to vote.
I agree because if you are 17/16 you are you are Technically an adult and be able to vote.
I agree because if you are 17/16 you are you are Technically an adult and be able to vote.
I think it should be older to vote because older people would know what to vote for
I think 16 and 17 years olds shouldn’t vote because they don’t know anything about it and they listen to the internet and then might vote for someone who is terrible and they might vote for someone who they don’t want
I disagree because if they were allowed, they could exploit the system, spread false rumours and ruin the election/vote for everyone taking part. Adults should only be able to vote, but teenagers should be prohibited.
The point I am trying to make is if 16-17 year olds were able to vote, they could wreck the entire thing because of a silly “leak” that managed to slip away and onto the internet. It would simply be ridiculous for people who take the vote seriously, meanwhile exploiters would simply laugh their heads off at something that could change our country for good.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve the elections because they won’t know who to vote for an won’t know who is who and won’t know how nice or mean they are and they easily going to copy other’s opinions one reason for my view is say I don’t know who to vote for I can just go up to a friend and ask what they think and copy
I think that 17 -30 year olds so the people that aren’t ready always have have a chance
It needs to be improved because they might not really no about voting because someone could say if you vote me I will give you a house are money you could get scammed and you didn’t want to vote so sometimes you Carnot change your answer so I think it needs to be improved.
I disagree because 16 to 17 are still figuring out what to do (to vote) but some 16 to 17 people know what to do. I think we should keep it at 18+ because some people don’t know these people and what they will do. You never no they might lie and treat everyone not right. So let 18+ people vote because they understand more
I think 1670 year-old be very capable of choosing the right president and Prime Minister to be there person and basically trust people because they should trust their own other people are lying to them and basically what if you’re a part of the president that says they would like do something super nice, but in the end when they become in that and then that would be super bad for the people who be voting for them so you should do it yourself and yeah you should believe in yourself believe in other people but if you don’t know you should ask your parents sister’s brother’s grandparents and grandads and then basically it’s so good for them
I think it would be a mistake to let 16 or 17 year olds because they are still thinking and working out life but at the same time some 16 and17 year olds have already worked out their life and what they want to do when their older . I think it would be a mistake still because 16 or17 year olds have been one their phones doing tick-tocks and doing Snapchat they stay on their phones more than they go out side .
I think we should even upper the age limit to 20 and over because 18 year olds are also getting more inflownced by apps on line and on tv so I think we should not let people vote until 20 because 19 year olds also are getting more rude and some billing younger people so it causes a change ration that makes them bully as well and the circle will happen again and again and again
Some people will think that lower it is a good idea but it just makes older people tricking younger people easier so I renamed to put up the age limit instead of lowering it . Most 20 year olds have fingered out there lifes and are starting jobs and they are starting their own lives.
Most of the people over 20 are working things they love and really want to do and have put their lives together so I think they are responsible to vote for them selves and not to get manipulated
Thanks for sharing your opinion and giving lots of reasons to support your point. You say that most people over 20 are working at things they love - what about if someone is still a student in full time education? Should they get a vote?
I think that you should not let 16 to 17 year old's vote because when some girls turn 16 they start to act like adults and go crazy and the boys do the same plus you cannot trust 16 year old girls because they are crazy ,only some of them.I also think that they should because I am sure that they have witnessed it before and they are probably learning about this voting stuff so maybe if they like it they are eager to try but all 16 and 17 year old's should be learning and studying this because when they turn 18 they need to be ready for it and not choose the wrong Prime Minister
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds vote would not improve and improve elections because if you allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote they might pick something that only helps them instead of the whole country. If you do not allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote then they would have a better Prime Minister because they would elect the best person to help their country.
i think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would not improve elections because they are too young and they are still in 6-form also they are too young to be voting because it might cause chaos since they aren't even 20 yet they shouldn't be voting because they might not even know what is going on.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year -olds to vote would not improve elections because if they do some 16 and 17 year olds are immature meaning if they vote for the first time you could not know anything about the politicians or what they do. One reason for my view is that for example if you vote for somebody you do not know about at all then if they do something bad and you voted for them you would be unhappy because you would feel bad. But if you are over 18 then you would most likely be mature then 16 year olds. Others might disagree with me because if you had more people voting then you would have a 5% boost in getting a party that yu voted for.
I think that most 16 and 17 years will improve elections because they will have young brains that can produce ideas or know who to pick based on their personalities although there are people that do whatever they want to do and do silly things like posting inappropriate comments online or use things such as Tik Tok to convince other people to vote for who they want to be elected.One example is when a 17 year old posted that that if you vote for this person you will get a free super car.
Thanks aware_papaya for using a piece of evidence you have seen or heard to support your view. What do you think should be done to combat inappropriate comments online, especially during an election?
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because they can make wrong or bad decisions when they don't have attention to detail. If they did vote they might follow information from the internet which is fake. Some teenagers spend too much time on their phones watching videos that it might just get stuck in their head and they might believe it during elections so they make a bad vote. Imagine if the adults vote for something or someone and the teens vote for another, it would just cause chaos. However some 16 and 17 year olds can be smart and think outside the box this might mean that they can be studious and make good decisions so this is the reason people may disagree with me.
Well done focused_tree for including another perspective at the end of your response.
i think allowing all sixteen and seventeen year old people to vote would vote would improve elections because there could be more choices and more decisions and make it more fair .one reason for my view is so that there are more elections in the world and so it can improve other peoples future .however other people might disagree with me because it will make the world more chaotic if everyone is voting at / for elections . it would be like ,in america ,if there was Donald Trump and somebody else at an election to be the president .if 2 million people voted for Donald Trump meanwhile the other person only got 10 votes ,it would be unfair because all the sixteen to seventeen year old people voted for Donald Trump ,it would be unfair .
i think it is fair for sixteen to seventeen year old people to vote so they can get a chance and understand the importance and understanding of voting . i believe sixteen to seventeen year old people should be able to have the chance of voting to see if they are sensible as at there age ,there brains have not fully developed yet.
Thanks for sharing your view strong_parrot. Did you know that over 150 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election in the USA!
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because they are nearly an adult and they could really think positive instead of joking around. However , it also could not improve elections because some of the 16 and 17 year olds just joke around and they sometimes just do not take the elections seriously. This could lead to a massive disagreement and even protests . I think that the 16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote for elections but if they do not take it seriously then it should removed for certain people.
Thanks for sharing intuitive_fruit. How would you remove certain people from voting? That is a interesting idea and also difficult to manage. What does everyone else think?
Maybe you could make a system that shows all comments , kind of like the Topical Talk Student Hub but for 16 and over . Then , you could look to see if the comments are just silly and if they are you can remove them.
I think allowing 16-17 year olds will not improve elections because normally teens are involved in different social media platforms such as TikTok,Instagram and Facebook where they encourage people to vote for different Presidents,so they would normally go the social media route and vote for the President that was on TikTok or a different platform.Another reason for my view is people have recently been using Chat GPT to make the President they want do different viral dances like Lush Life and Coco Chanel which lulles people into voting for them when they don't actually know whether they are a good,fair President or not.People do this because they know that if younger individuals will most likely vote for that person because they would think that they were very cool because they doing cool,viral stuff.
Thanks for sharing loving_jackfruit. Why do you think some people may disagree with you?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds will improve voting because it will allow more people to help society before they are an adult so that they an feel useful to others when they are voting for a new leader, but other people reading this might disagree because most 16 and 17-year-olds believe whatever they see on social media which will put them at risk of believing misinformation, which might end up with a bad leader. If they believe misinformation from a party on social media, and vote for a bad leader, and that leader actually got chosen, it could really harm that person's mental health if they believe that it's their fault that the entire country got a selfish person leading them, and they might even think that society would hate them for it and will stay away from everyone out of fear. But I believe that even if they vote for a bed leader, they still will feel proud of themselves for being part of millions of voters and also supporting their opinion even if social media brainwashed them, and many adults even get tricked by social media anyways.
I think no and yes because 16 year old's and 17 years old are very old and wise but it's not very common for a teenager to vote for elections but adults and old people are more wiser to vote for elections for who will become president, or something for good reasons and if teenager think wisely, they would know which one they want to choose. If they were a teenager it would be kind of
chaotic cause some teenagers don't know what their capable of due to stuff like elections and some other stuff that's important or if they know what their doing they might be capable of it or they could do some silly stuff that's violating the elections so they could end up in big trouble.
Thanks for sharing, good_editor. Do you think breaking election rules is something only young people might do, or is it a risk for voters of all ages?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because you might have learnt about democracy in school to prepare you for the general election when your time comes, some of them might be influenced by other people and want to follow. It would improve the election because everyone has a voice and they deserve to use it for something good and it can also be a fair chance of that party winning and getting more and more votes. 16 and 17 year olds are mature enough to vote and do it without any help. One reason for my view is that it is fair will prepare them for their future.
I think 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve election because some children might not be ready to vote and another reason why I think they should not be able to vote is because I think they need to be about in their twenty's or over because 16 or 17 year old have other thing to do like University.Also I think that poeple their age should most likely do lessens on it before they start to vote for anyone like for example some days poeple who want vote go to learn how to do it properly.
i think allowing 16 and 17 year old to vote would improve elections because that if we have a tie then we could ask 16 and 17 year old people to vote since their minds are nearly developed and they are nearly a grown up.allowing them to vote is a great choice because that the years 16 and 17 are going to learn the real world and how it works,presidents also can look upon the young people to vote seriously and to tell their parent to make and teach them how to vote properly.teachers can be apart of teaching when or soon election time is happening and to view choices and to pick their prime minister.16 and 17 year old people can pick if they are not ready to do this or if they want to be independent and to vote,how ever people might disagree to my answer because most 16 and 17 year old people in school are very naughty and have their own opinion for voting and might vote for both and create a argument between both of them and plus they might not understand how the world works and not take this seriously.
I agree because at the age of 16 and 17 you should be able to make your own opinion and you should be able to vote which means you need the courage to do and i think that they do.It can also really help younger people to decide what they want to be when they are older.They are old enough to watch the TV and to be able to vote and nobody should stop them from doing it.I think at any age people should vote because it shows other people to be stronger and to have the courage to vote even if they are to young.16 ans 17 year old people should know that their votes matter to,therefore people should vote if they want to.
no they are too young to be voting it is 18 and above . it is quite fair because they are way too young and it should not be for young people as they will not be responsible and or sensible to be voting at their age .it will be way to chaotic if sixteen to seventeen year olds are voting and there will be way to many people voting .it would not improve elections because their brains have not fully developed yet .i find this unfair .
If they violate the elections you would be in big trouble and if they do not violate it they would be fine but if they know what their doing, they might be allowed to be voting but it,s better for adults to be voting for elections cause their way more capable at what they are doing.
I think allowing16 and 17-year olds to vote would improve elections beacuse [ reason one] i think yes it will improve because it will be good to lison to young peopel vocies and there opinion because everyone should have a chanse to speak up to the age of 70 and the reason i say this because technolagey can be very invance and and soon AI will take oven and old people might not understand it .
it is unfair because sixteen to seventeen years being able to vote would not make any difference to elections because at their age ,they will not yet understand elections at their age because they are too young to be able to vote . one reason for my point of view is because they will get too chaotic and will not be responsible enough .
THEY ARE TOO YOUNG TO VOTE !
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because they would be adults in 1 and 2 years and some countries are banning tiktok and 12 to 17 year olds are not happy about because America banned tiktok once then Australia banned tiktok they should not that why they should vote for there mayour or president .
I think that allowing 16-17 age to vote is not improved because they might be silly and disappointing because they might tell each other their vote and just vote for the sake of voting and i also think that they shod raise the vote from 18 to 21 because 18 is still quit young and probably silly like what some 17 or 16 year old's do and be a bit disappointing as well as.
That's my exclplamenation on why i think that you shodent let 16 to 17 year old's to vote
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds would improve elections because the more people who vote, the fairer it is as more people get a say in who they want the next prime minister. Also, younger people might have a better memory. One reason for my view is that 16-17 year olds already have a lot of responsibility so they must be sensible enough to vote, too. However, I also think allowing them to vote would not improve elections because teenagers are always on their phones and scrolling on Social Media, Youtube and Ticktok so they will be easily influenced by any of the parties doing something funny on one of the apps. A reason for my view is that they love it and they will not care about law because they find it boring and they will be restless.
I think allowing all 16-17-year olds to vote would not improve elections because 16-17 year olds, are easy to be fooled by online influencers. One reason for my view is, for example a 16 year old boy decides he would like to join the voting community. The boy scrolls on youtube and finds a video about a candidate that is very popular. The candidate online starts manipulating people to vote for him and the unknowing boy decides to vote for the candidate. After the voting day the new president starts changing the country and it becomes worse than before. and the boy's home and surroundings was not the same anymore. Ever since I saw this I decided it would not be a good idea for a 16-17 year old to vote.
I agree, because 16-17 people should learn to have their own rights to know which leader is best for their country. It could also give them a chance to see what is the right thing to do and we are all part of our country. I think they should be able to vote.
i think 16 year is too young for election
so i totally disagree because of these reason
a. they can easily get bribed with gifts
that they may or never recive
so with these few points of mine i say 16 year should note vote
I disagree because allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote would not improve elections. One reason for my view is 16 and 17-year-old are not yet experienced or qualified to vote, this is because people at that age are young and can be easily manipulated by their peers to vote for a particular group. I say that the voting age should be left at 18 years.
its a good thing that 16 and 17 years can vote because it can help expose them ,it can further their knowledge for those who offer government as a course or politics government ,and it would enlighten young youth about the system democracy and it would be nice instead of following other countries rules like Algeria ,Angola ,Benin ,Germany, Ghana ,Greenland, Hong Kong .Not only Nigera practices this other countries do too
THANK YOU. . . .
I think letting all 16 and 17-year-olds vote would definitely improve elections because politicians would have to pay attention to us more. Right now, so many decisions affect our lives—like school, jobs, and even stuff like transport or internet costs—but no one really asks what we think. If we could vote, politicians would have to actually talk about issues that matter to young people, not just what older voters want. I mean, it IS our future too, so why shouldn’t we have a say or vote?
Also, I feel like if we could vote, more teenagers would actually start paying attention to politics instead of just scrolling past it. I know I’d start reading more about what’s happening and even discuss it with friends, instead of just complaining online. It would make us feel like our opinions matter, and honestly, it might make elections more exciting too, because suddenly, young people would actually have power to change things.
I think the age between 16 to 20 should not be allowed because of they might just vote for the most famous; or popular and not vote for the people who is not famous. I think people who are about 24 for should be able to vote because they know not to be fooled by fake lies they use to get votes.
Why do you think it suddenly changes when you hit 24?
I think the age between 16 to 20 should not be allowed because of they might just vote for the most famous; or popular and not vote for the people who is not famous. I think people who are about 24 for should be able to vote because they know not to be fooled by fake lies they use to get votes.
No because they can can watch TikTok and get false info like: [NAME] committed arson at 17 and didn’t get caught!!! You see what I mean? Some sketchy user can post a video saying bad information about a GREAT political icon and get 20M+ views, then they will get probably only 10k votes and a REALLY bad dictator can get 5M votes, in my opinion, 16 year olds shouldn’t be able to vote because they will just look up: ‘Best prime minister to vote for in uk election 2026?’ And then it will come up with: ‘5 reasons you should vote for [NAME]!
Well done for adding an example to illustrate your point of view.
Thank you! :D
I originally wanted to type a comment about how this issue is not as big as you think it is, but after looking at some other comments, talking about things like the influence of social media, of parents, and even how parts of the brain are still quite underdeveloped at that age, you've really helped me see this from a different perspective, thanks for that. Also as the youth of today become more separated from reality and become basically attached to social media even getting all of our opinions from it, and in an age where AI use is at a high, and deepfakes are becoming better and better, we need to have voters with, completely developed minds to be able to separate fake from fact . This whole thing reminds me of a book I read a few weeks ago, it was called "How Spies Think" the author spent a lot of time talking about AI and the effects of social media on modern politics, he even made a prediction on how the future would look like, and this was in 2020 predicting 2027, and as time goes on more and more I see more of his negative predictions becoming true, and it's kind of scary. So now i feel like we should increase the voting age to a point where our minds are fully developed, like at 25, that's the best way to go in my opinion.
to me children at 16 yrs old is not meant to choose leader because lack of info of what is happening in our country is one of the problems we have presently. some of them don't even know what the country faces what they think about is the latest trend on TikTok. Even 18 yr old citizen are the cause of bad leadership in our country yes because they could be easily influenced by other people decision. for example, in Nigeria we are there is an election going on but some people thinks that former governor of Anambra state( peter obi ) should be the president of Nigeria but no we are not sure of what will happen when he becomes the president of Nigeria cause some people can actually change their character when they get to higher post of leadership. sometimes people choose leaders based on what they have heard about who ever they think is meant or who they think is going to be the leader. So to me 20 yrs old adult should be the ones voting no even 18.
I think that 16-17 year olds shouldn’t vote because they don’t know what to vote for
Their votes are inspired by their favourite YouTubers
They normally choose what their friends think
They vote for things like; more football, less school and other things
Go day everyone am interesting cookie here and i want to comment on why 16 yrs old should not be allowed to vote during elections. one reasons is that there adolescent sense is still developing. when i say that there adolescent sense i still developing i mean that they are not matured to vote because they haven't gotten enough knowledge about go and bad leaders. secondly is that they haven't experienced the test of life before because they can be politically be manipulated and at the same time be bribed( manipulated here means that candidate can use this manipulation stuff as a strategy to win the election).
I agree because 16-17 year old will have a chance to vote and explain why they voted for that person. It will also help them because they will understand more about the politic rules. I also think that because some might be mature some might not be mature but also they need to know what there policy is before they vote. They need to have a reason on why they have voted that person.
Thanks !
I think that 16 year olds should be able to vote because some people who are used to voting sometimes get stuck on there opinions and don’t change. Where as if there are new 16 year olds then they can be influenced on who is better to vote for. Also they would have been on social media which sometimes can spread good things in different communities. But if the 16 year old has gone to a good and educating school then they might be smart enough to ignore some of the bad influencing people who lie on social media telling you who to vote for.They also need to make sure that these sixteen year olds know information about the parties before they vote so they know their own opinions.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-Olds to vote would not improve elections because they are still to young to vote. One reason for my view is 16 and 17-year-Olds do not know more about leadership or how to vote they might just vote for this person because of what heard not what they have seen
I think that people aged 16 or 17 should be able to vote because everybody should be able to say their opinions and the people shouldn’t stop other people from voting.
My say in this vote is that 16 year olds should not vote as they don’t have enough knowledge of politics and which to pick . Sixteen year olds are very online and currently watch videos of politics doing something very helpful without knowing if it’s real or not as it can be ai .
to vote in the age of 13 is not good but if you vote in the 16 is not bad but how the country is is not bad but 18 is best for people
I think over 16 year olds should and shouldn’t be able to because if they work and save then can be able to make their own decisions . They also help younger children make decisions , and it’s fair for them to think they can be braver and stand up for their rights however They shouldn’t copy of social media and if they do they shouldn’t be sensible enough to vote but if you are more mature you should vote. You can vote but they need to understand the policies but they the teachers should do more in school to educate the kids before voting for all . 😌
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because the 16 and 17-years olds are teenagers and might not have much interest about leadership elections. One reason for my view is for instance, a 16-year-old high school girl who loves to read, hang out with her friends and go for parties might not pay much attention to in election of leaders. She might spend some time on social media and hear a news posted by her special friends that a certain person is going to give a certain amount of money if they vote for that person, and her not knowing much information about the person might decide to vote for the person because it is her friend that told her.
However, not only the 16 and 17-year-olds can do this, the 18 years and above do this but mostly the 16 and 17-year-olds can do this. Thanks.
Please my fellow topical talkers, do you agree or disagree with me?
I think that 16 and 17 year olds being able to vote is a bad thing I think it is a bad thing because they might not know a lot about the elections as most of them will copy their family and friends or what people are saying on social media and they need to know all of their policies and they need to understand all about their parties.
They need to understand all of what they are doing.They also might understand the news online and they news online might be fake so they need to be able to understand their policies and understand all about their parties.
Although I don’t think that it is a good idea some 16 year olds would probably be sensible and see all of the parties rules and policies.
I think 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote but not every one knows who to vote for but we should have school clubs talking about all the leaders and how to make good decisions about what the leaders do with their choices but we should be educated on this also some people think that they are voting for a good leader based on their speech but not every leader tells the truth we also see things about this on social media such as TikTok instagram Facebook YouTube and so much more I also think 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote because they can get jobs and get money that’s not from their parents but I also think that they might not take it seriously but I still think they should vote
SHOULD 16-17 YEAR OLDS BE ABLE TO VOTE…
I think 16-17 should be able to vote because they will live in the world that they vote for.
Although influencers may say vote for one thing but I would say it is the world you are going to live in and if you want to vote what your friends vote for that’s on you.
And it depends on you. However you could go on YouTube to see why people vote for them.
And some 16 year olds may be as smart as 30 year olds.
SHOULD 16-17 YEAR OLDS VOTE
NO
They don’t know who is who
They don’t know which party this better
They vote for what their friends vote for
YES
Some 16-17 year olds know more about the news than 30 year olds
Some people want to vote
Some teenagers want their votes to be seen or respected
Personally I don’t think 16-17 year olds shouldn’t vote
I agree because they might not have enough life experience to actually understand the situation they are contributing to and they might not have enough time to visit the political party.
Many elections can be altered by many reasons beyond just ages of voting, I believe voting should be a factor for 16 and 17 year olds as more people have the freedom and privilege to vote and can easily make all elections more interesting and can attract more people who maybe wasn’t invested in democracy and elections.
Secondly, 16 and 17 year olds might really want a chance to vote as they might disagree with the government and can have their say and can express themselves in a way many people might like. Opinions can vary on this matter and can change across many people and are opinions direct the future of our country and can make the government the best it can be and always wanted to be.
With younger people voting, social media can get brought into this as social media can show you any topic all the millions of users post and all topics other people agree with. I also believe that if you do vote, I think you should have a better understanding of society and politics of England and other places among the midst of the UK. A vote on a prime minister or MP could be changed due to something you may not like, for example lowering pensions or increasing tax payments for richer people, I think everyone should be treated equally and live in a country of freedom and pride for skin colour and different races.
I also believe that voting ages should lower as many other countries including Brazil and Malta have already lowered voting ages decades ago before most of us had even been born yet! I think if other countries can do it and bypass major incidents e.g corruption.
I think letting 16 and 17 year olds is good and bad I think it is not a good thing as they might not know a lot about elections and might end up choosing what they see people talking about for instance they might see people on platforms like social media and because they are popular they will copy them .I think that they should know about who they are voting about and what benefits that person would bring to the environment .
I think that it could also be a good thing for 16 and 17 year olds to vote schools could help by teaching more about politics and elections.
I think that, people that are under 16-17 shouldn't because I personally think that if you are under 16-17 you might not have enough time to visit the political party’s. that they don’t have enough life experience to quit understand that if the person that is trying to get votes is will say something good but they won’t do that thing that was saying they would do.
In my opinion I don’t think 16 to 17 year olds should vote because there not old enough and older adults would have more experience as there older and have more of an understanding to voting.I also think 16 to 17 year olds shouldn’t be allowed to vote as your younger and those people are not an adult yet.Also being older gives you an advantage as you’ve had more experience to voting.Also 16 to 17 year olds have to know what other people are in kneed.Also 16 to 17 year olds have to be interested in voting.In my opinion I think that there should be a different vote for younger years.I think school could do more to teach younger years about voting.So that they have more of an understanding when it comes to actoualy voting for something.I also believe that everyone should get a chance to vote there joust two different rooms for people to vote like one room for adults and one room for children.Also I think that some schools should do more topical talk as it can help other people to understand the concept of voting.So younger years can tell there opinions to other people so that that can change there minset can change to the consent of voting for people.You also won’t to put other peoples kneeds first so that that you can feel good about helping other people.So I don’t think that younger years should vote as they have less experience in life.I know that younger years might thing I that it’s unfair but in my opinion it’s fair as younger years might knot know what there talking about when it comes to voting.So in this topical talk lesion I believe no one under 16 should vote.
A well-explained point of view, well done. You say that people need experience of the things they are voting for. What about the people in government who run the country? Do you think they should have experience in jobs that relate to the department they work for? E.g the health secretary should have been a doctor, nurse etc.
I disagree because 16 to 17 year old are always online and so they might only agree with others like their friends family and also people that are just saying things that sound good . So to help they could make groups outside of personal life and in school to tell everyone under the age of 17 to understand about politics and to show that everyone that they should have a fair vote on what they like and think is the best option . Schools should help by getting people to come in and talk about how to vote and maybe even get young people who are going through voting and their opinions.
fantastic_cliff, I like your idea of schools creating groups and inviting speakers to help under-17s better understand politics and voting. Some great creative problem-solving!
I predict that allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote would not improve elections because they don’t have a lot life experience and they may just pick the biggest party or pick what there friend said and there more likely to believe everything they see on the news or social media but I believe they should because some sixteen year olds are smart and know or learnt tons of information about elections and if social media say fake stuff some sixteen to seventeen year olds who are cleaver and mature can realise there mistake were others can’t and don’t know what there doing.I think secondary school and college can do more lessons on topical talk or learn more about elections because if 16-17 year olds do vote school should make them ready.
Good job weighing the pros and cons of lowering the voting age, valuable_mouse!
I don’t think 16-17year olds shouldn’t get to vote because they should know the politics and they could agree with their family and friends. They might not know who to vote for.
I strongly believe 16 year old should be allowed to vote because it would help increase voter turnout. People who are less than 18 tend to have stronge rroots in tneir community sometimes having lived innthe same area for many years and established connections to their school, family ,friends and so on. This gives an awareness of local issues. Reducing the voting age to 16 will increas voter turnout as the population gets older . Younger people under 18 influence the voter turnout of their parents.
When there are more youn voters it can increase th chances of a desired candiate to win the election due to increas in population of voters.
Lowering the voting age can encourage tennagers to participiate in civic dutiesand can make them more aware about the happenings,in their society or nation at large.
i don't think 16 and 17 year old's should be able to vote because they might not be able to make smart discissions and might not fully understand
I THINK SIXTEEN AND SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOTE BECAUSE they might want to vote so they can change what happens for them in the future and what they like
i think that we do not need to reduce the election age as they may have the maturity but they may be easily persuaded to a party and they may block out other opinions and only listen to people they know. Also they may joke around and not make a proper vote and they could cause trouble in the election/voting building.
Some interesting thoughts here, resplendent_aspect. Can you think of any benefits to lowering the voting age?
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because people would be able to see more of young people's opinions and it would also let young people have a say in important decisions
Hello
Allowing 16 yrs old to vote will serious increase the rate of electoral malpractice and at the same time it can also increase the way the election flows in some countries. Teenagers in countries like USA are allowed to have a driving license and so they should be able to have a voters license too. Allowing teenagers to vote can also allow them to express them self free without been controlled and also increase the rate of decision making.
Hi interesting_cookie, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Could you expand on what you mean by an “increase in electoral malpractice.” In what ways might teenage voters contribute to this? And are there real-life examples or studies that support your claim?
I think letting 16-17 year old can be a good change because they are nearly grown ups and they are mature to do stuff like that
I think 16 and 17 year olds should have the chance to vote since they are already responsible enough. At this age, this set of teens have already been taught about government and how it works. Plus, some teenagers under the ages of 16 and17 already have jobs, they are used to how life is and therefore choose a right leader for their country.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because improve because at that age they must have had a good thinking faculty know the right leader that can help their parents in the future. For example, the bad leadership in Nigeria, Peter obi won the election in Nigeria but because of the bribery that Bola Tinubu gave he became the president of Nigeria. So, I am trying to say that the 16-and 17 years olds should be allowed so that voters can improve to avoid misunderstanding. Because it can be easy to know the winner.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because most 16 and 17 year are not responsible and might vote as a joke. One reason for my view is they are still not adults yet and might not take it seriously.
Yes because it allows more ages to vote and it adds more variety.
Hi! (I’m bad at explaining things so bare with me)
I think 16/17 year olds should be able to vote. Opinions from the younger audience do matter and most of the time things that many people do are 18+, meaning it doesn’t give younger people a chance to do many things and think things. Many people (10 and over) do have opinions about everything that has been happening in the world and what should. We should be given a chance to speak out.
I think letting 16 or 17 year old's vote for the country could lead to big problems and it wouldn't help improve the country at all.
I agree with everyone saying that everybody should get a say bur 16 - 17 year old's are not mature enough for example they could vote for someone who they know wouldn't help the country at all but do it as a joke for their friends. Some teens don't understand how everything works so i could be over whelming for them to vote.
What do you think about this?
Iam not convinced that giving 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote would actually improve the electrol process. Currently, the voting age is set at 18 and above.A significant number of 18 year-olds are in the midst of wrapping up high school, and quite often, they lean on their parents for assistance when it comes to selecting a college. Considering they might still need guidance with a major decision like that, it could be a stretch for them to confidently choose a political leader. If 18 year-olds occasionally find themselves in a bind, it's reasonable to assume that 16 and 17 year-olds might not yet posses the maturity required for voting. The quality of their choices could be questionable. For these reasons, I harbor reservations about the proposal.
Personally, I think in my opinion 16/17 year olds shouldn’t be able to vote because they probably don’t know much about politics and what is going on right now in the world.In addition they might only be voting because their friends do and they could vote for what there friends are voting but that could be the wrong decision.Social media isn’t very helpful in some occasions because influencers could be telling there young fans to vote what there voting.I think we should all have our own opinions and try our best to communicate and show an understanding of what is going on around the world.When we vote we shouldn’t rely on social media but on our own decisions.
I dont think this would be good as it would make it a lot harder for the people who count them
i think it glitched
i think that 16 and 17 year olds should not vote because they wont make much of this because at that age you wont know what is going on in the news
I think it won’t help because 16-17 year olds should be focusing on things like university, school and what they would want to do for work. But then there’s a reason why it would be good is that it would help other party’s to win.
i think that letting 16 or 17 year - olds is not okay because i think that they would not know that much about elections so therefore they should not vote because they might need to learn about what they are voting about
Thank you, constructive_sheep - would you opinion change if this was taught at school?
I agree with you constructive sheep
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because some 16 and 17 year old's have to provide for there family's and make decisions so why should they not be allowed to vote because some of them have jobs and pay bills with the money they make in the job so they should.
I think that you should not be able to vote when your 16 because you can not really
trust your decisions . Also you will have a lot of perssure on yourself to choose the right one
I think allowing 16 and 17 year 's are bad maybe not 17 but 16 you might be immature and might mess around but it might improve the election's but if 17 and 16 year old's join the election they might be easily manipulated and guided in the wrong direction and been the wrong choice because you need to follow your heart instead of someone else's choice's because you have your own choice's.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year 's are bad maybe not 17 but 16 you might be immature and might mess around but it might improve the election's but if 17 and 16 year old's join the election they might be easily manipulated and guided in the wrong direction and been the wrong choice because you need to follow your heart instead of someone else's choice's because you have your own choice's.
Hi I'm unconventional _power and i think 16 year olds should be able to vote because all of our voices should be herd no matter age because its just a number .
Hi I'm unconventional _power and i think 16 year olds should be able to vote because all of our voices should be herd no matter age because its just a number .
I think allowing 17 and 16 - year - olds to be able to vote is not good because they might not know that much about elections in this day and age most of them don`t even know how to handle money and taxes they just go out and spend most of there money on games sweets and drinks and that could result to them going broke or even homeless so i don`t think they should be able to vote or do elections .
I think they can be influenced into making a decision based on social media that might have fake information about people or they could be influenced by family members and might be able to help them make a better choice based on true facts
i think that 16 and 17 year olds should not be able to vote because they could make a mistake and they might not know if that person is a good person or a bad person . it is hard to vote at that age ; there could be people that could persuade you into voting for a different person and that person could be someone you might not know ; the could be dangerous : the person your voting for could be a bad person so therefore i do not think that 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote.
I think allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because, I feel like everyday I go to class it's always some nonsense and goofiness in my class. And with this generation I think it so messed up and different. We can't nothing serious and it kinda of hurts me to be in this generation of gen z and gen alpha. Because before you know it we will be in 8th grade and then high school. I think I would be ready to vote and mature enough but my classmates and this generation, no not at all. One reason for my view is the kids in my classroom, they are goofy,not serious, and they play entirely too much. I hope you see my reasoning on why I said I don't improve.
~Sincerely, logical_otter~
I think that allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because it’s only at the age 18 you become a YOUNG Adult and because of this 16-17 year olds are still teenagers, so from what I have seen from teenagers they are still very silly and act like 5 year olds and sometimes they like to go out and get very drunk then come back extremely silly and stuff like that. So that is why I think that 16-17 year olds should not be allowed to go and vote in elections
I think that 16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote but at the some time i think they should not be allowed to vote. firstly I think they should be allowed to vote because different
ages have different ways of seeing things because adults might see it a different way but teenagers might see it a way that the adults can't really see so I think it is important that 16 and 17-year-olds get to vote.
Secondly I think that 16 and 17-year-olds should not be allowed to vote because someone could just bribe them and because they don't have that much experience in voting so they will easily get bribed and they could just randomly vote for someone they don't even know about.
Do you think that 16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote??
I think that under 16 years old should have a choice because if more people vote then people can get a better prospect. And it fills a bit more fairer .
I think that 16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote because they will be the next generation of leaders and should get used to being able to vote and getting to know some of the certain rules of voting. Also, when they vote, they're shaping their opinions which helps them to make hard decisions that are different from their parents.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year olds to vote would not improve elections because nowadays people usually don’t care so much about the world so maybe they would vote to a random politic party, which can be bad or good.
One reason for mi view is that people now believe things that are not real mainly in social media. People is starting to defend some dictatorship from the past, which is a very bad idea because they haven’t see what people have suffered when there was a dictatorship. People at that age doesn’t focus a lot in politics because they have more important things to do like studying. But I’m not saying that all young people don’t make good decisions because some of them are interested about politics and know which is the best for the world
In conclusion, allowing people at that age would be a little bit catastrophe so thats why I think that they should maintain minimum voting age at 18
i think 16 to 17 years peoples should not be allowed to vote as they do not see the representatives quality they just see the fame and popularity of then in India if 16 and 17 were allowed then the actors who re the representatives get more advantage as these kids are fan of them in CINEMA so they definitely vote these actors some might argue with me that there are responsible kids also ,but are they enough as when compared fan based voters will be more in number so this is my reason to avoid giving eligibility to vote for 16and 17 years kids
I disagree because I think that teenagers have to focus on more important things such study or just learn about you. Also, most of teenagers don´t work and don´t live alone or work so as they don´t live that problem in their own lives from their perspective it is more difficult that they realise about real problems.
16 and 17 year old should not vote because if they now want to vote they will not know who to vote for. For example a 16 or 17 year old boy came to vote but he did not know who or which party to vote for. Since we all know what voting is, voting is to vote or to be voted for the boy will be confused so that is why 16 and 17 year olds are not allowed to vote and he or she can not be voted for because they are still minors.
In my opinion, with the participation of 16 and 17-years-olds, elections could improve because young people would have a voice in decisions that affect us, such as climate change or the country´s economy. We would be better represented in the country, as our ideas and opinions would be expressed. Additionally, it would help create the habit of participating in elections among young people, making us more responsible citizens.
On the other hand, some people might think that this would have a negative impact on elections, since we may not be considered mature enough to make such an important decision.
I believe that we should be given the opportunity and that people should trust us to choose how we want the country to be.
16/17 year olds should not allowed to vote because their still dependants, they can not make choices on their own and they can easily be manipulated to vote the wrong people into leadership or government.
I think allowing 16 and 17 years old to vote would improve elections because it's time we stop treating democracy like a history lesson and start treating it like a real-world responsibility. One reason for my view is that 16 years old are the ones who will actually live with the consequences of today's big decisions, like climate change. If we're old enough to pay taxes or work we're definitely old enough to have a say in our own future instead of just waiting on the sidelines until we're 18.
Ultimately, elections shouldn't just be about who is in charge today, but about who will inherit the results tomorrow. If a 16 years old is old enough to be affected by the low, they are old enough to have a hand in writing it. Democracy is a muscle; if we want a stronger society, we need to let the next generation start training sooner.
Allowing all 16 and 17 years old is not a bad idea.
Some of them have enough experience to vote, but others aren't that clever. But we can't say some can vote and some can't. So I think all 16 and 17 years old should be allowed to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds would not improve elections because they would be fooled easily. One reason for my view is that some 16 and 17 year olds still can't figure out that when being told to do something they don't think or when they are mad. They do not think which could make them do stupid stuff. I know this because I am just thinking about myself. I would not know what to do so I would be stressed, and then I would do the wrong thing.
There will be two routes I'll be taking. The first is yes - more people will be able to vote and that gives a better chance of winning the presidency and they could do positive things like helping families that struggle, opening charities, and more food banks.
I also think no because people could make them a people-pleaser under pressure and vote for someone that could hurt the country. They could take away food stamps, and they could also try to fight other countries and be greedy.
Overall I would say no because its risky unstable and they are manipulated easily.
In my opinion I think that allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because people at those ages don't really understand anything about elections. One reason for this spectacle is that at 16 and 17 people's minds would not have fully developed. Many people think that even people at 18 who are legal age to vote are not ready to vote because of their mindset. In conclusion, 16 and 17 are most likely not the right ages to be voting.
I think that allowing all 16 and 17 year-olds to vote would improve elections because even though kids in this age are not adults yet they could still have matured enough to understand what happens during an election. One reason I think this is because during election season people are going to be posting political messages. Some may agree with them, and some may not, but the 16 and 17 year olds are old enough now to know that they can vote for themselves and not follow others in their political thoughts.
Some people might disagree with me because they might think that at the age of 16 and 17 they still have not matured enough to actually understand the process of voting in an election. Even though others might think ages 16 and 17 aren't old enough to vote they could still be able to have their own say on who should be president or not.
I agree that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections. One reason I think this is that it will allow people to know that they have a say in who is the leader. For example, some 16 and 17 olds may think that their opinion about who should lead is not important. Also, it gives the 16 and 17 year old a chance to learn how to be more mature by dealing with how adults vote and learn more about the politicians.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year old's to vote would not improve the voting system because at those ages people would accept bribes towards voting for them as they don't have as much experience as 18 year old would. These types of bribes include: money and much more. One reason for my view is that social media is blowing up nowadays and 16 and 17 year old's get more information of social media, which they don't know is true, than general knowledge .
in my opinion 16 and 17 should be able to vote because it can help a lot. 16 and 17 year olds are on the internet and can get more opinions and facts. They will not blindly vote, and they can get more information on the guy they are voting for. Older people don't know how to do that so they do not know what they will do. Older people also talk and most of the time believe what other people say. They might vote for the wrong person, and the older people might think the 16 and 17 year olds are wrong.
In my opinion I think that the starter age for voting should be lowered to 16. I think this because some kids are very smart and their brain grows faster than others. Some kids think in a different way than adults can or won’t try to think. Also I think this because some kids go through a lot because of things adults have done, so if we get another kid that has the same thought process as a kid that has a high intelligence then it can help adults see that they're hurting some kids. And we still have to think of the young young kids so if adults are mentally hurting the kids now then it would be worse in the future for those kids if we didn’t get teens or young adults to express how the kids feel because we can’t. So in my opinion I think the starter voter age should be lowered to 16.
I believe that allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote would drastically improve elections because 16 year olds can leave school, Get a Job and Pay Taxes (if they meet certain obligations) and plus that drive and it would open up the door for around 8.87 million voters across the US alone also 17 year olds can join the military (with parental consent) so why not allow the very group that can do a lot of activities that their parents can do not vote it can also open up a wider perpspective amongst the current American politcs and with the recent events going on
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would make elections worse. I think this because 16 and 17 year olds are still minors and won't know much about voting. For example, a 16 year old might be new to voting and vote for someone bad without even knowing it. Another reason why I think they should not vote is because 16 and 17 year olds could get easily persuaded to vote for a bad president. For example, a 16 year old might ask a fake friend what president he should vote for and vote for a bad one. My final reason is that 16 and 17 year olds might be on the phone too much and just vote for the first president they see without knowing it. For example, a 17 year old might be on Tik-Tok and when its election day they vote for the first person without knowing about them.
I highly agree that 16yrs and 17yrs old should vote because in America some 16yrs and 17yrs are smart they also help some people with lots of things so I agree that 16-17 should vote.
I strongly believe that, allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elctions in fact it could actually damage ellections because it introduces a high level of emotional changes into a system that requires steady and long term judgment.One reason for my view is that 16-year-olds are often leaving in a non consequence world, where they haven't yet had to navigate the real world. Like for example being legally responsible for their own lives.You are taught how things shloud work in a textbook,but you haven't felt yet the harshness of the system.
I think allowing all 16 and 17- year-olds would not improve elections because people this age are not really respectfully and don't care who leads the US they just care who is paying the phone bills and talk about tik tok and instagram. One reason is that people this age should be learning about elections instead of going out and electing without even knowing what it is or what to do. On the other hand Improved (gifted) students at 16 and 17 should be able to vote because they are ready for the world and know what elections are without having to spend days trying to learn about elections fast. One reason is that these type of teens are not always on their phones and worry more about school and mostly shows that they are ready to explore the world and what is in stock for them like voting.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote would be a good thing and a bad thing in elections because some 16 and 17 year olds don't think the same as adults and their mind hasn't fully developed. One reason I say no to my view is let's say this 16 or 17 year old comes to vote and he/she dropped out of school and they don't know everything. Like for example they might not know a lot about the government and stuff that's related to that. That would give a big impact on the vote in the UK because there's over 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds and that is a lot. I also say this because kids their age should be focused on school and their future and not be thinking about voting. Also, 16-17 year old kids should vote because some kids their age already have a big mindset and know a lot about what is going on around the world. Another reason is because kids their age should have a bigger say in things instead of being quiet and not saying anything. Kids know more than you think. Kids their ages are really smart. But at the same time it's whatever that country says or where they live. So for my final say I say that kids 16 and 17 should have a bigger say in things and should be able to vote.
In my opinion, letting 16 and 17 year olds vote would not be good,because if the 16 and 17 year olds vote they highly will put in one vote,but then at the last minute they change the vote.If they let 16 through 17 year olds vote they might not know how to act.For instance,They might be jumping,running,or even might use their phones and turning the volume up all the way.Some 16 and 17 year olds don't know how to act sometimes.Most 16 year olds aren't mature.In conclusion,that is why I think 16 and 17 year olds should not vote.
I believe that 16 year olds should be allowed to have a valid vote as governments’ decisions today will affect their lives tomorrow. Teenagers are taught in school about elections and politics, signalling they already have a strong sense of reasoning out and debating, which is how you decide your final vote. Giving them an opportunity to have a voice and speak out, knowing that their vote will be just as valid as anyone else’s will surely make them want to feel like they have reasoned out and submitted a decent vote, possibly making sure the right person in an election is designated and improving the overall decency of the country. Of course there will always be teens who don’t take it seriously, submitting their vote as a joke but that doesn’t mean that we should ban all 16 year olds from that opportunity. I trust if they know that these decisions affect their future, they’ll take it seriously and improve life in their communities and countries.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because some 16-17-year-olds don't have time to even vote because of school, homework, and projects. Those activities are important because all of those can enhance your smarts and everything else. So in my opinion, 16 and 17-year-olds would NOT improve elections and the government should change it back to 18+.
If all 16 and 17 can vote it would make a large impact on the world.The reason I say this because not every 16 and 17 people will make good decisions,also not all know about elections and choosing what path and president.You never know what types of possibility that can accrue.There are lots of 16-17 yr olds that don't have sense of anything,but half of those people know what they're doing to the public.More of the story is that 16-17 are not reliable or trustable to the community and lot of people can agree but I think for the world to be a better place 16-17 yr olds are not trustable to this world so I think 18 is good for the community to trust and older for the people to agree with. Some people may not agree but that's ok.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years old vote will improve the world because making this type of decisions increase the votes of our leaders. Not only does it increase the votes but it prepares the 16 and 17 years old while teaching them how to vote properly because we don't know if they might be our future leaders of tomorrow .
One reason for my view is that at that age, they enter the stage of adulthood and since they are mature enough for their first experience in voting they learn new things and suddenly encounter more adult experience in life.
For example as young adults they start to do what adults do such as budgeting, cooking , traveling abroad, getting a drivers license , getting friends, getting jobs, getting independence and having a skill. So, if 16 and 17 year old people are qualified
as young adults then why aren't the young adults allowed to vote ?!!!. Once again, young adults are up to the age of maturity so they should be able to vote freely. And also being a young adult doesn't just mean you're mature it means that you're grown up too .
in my opinion I think 16 and 17 year olds should not vote, its because some of the 16 and 17 year olds are very silly and aren't mature as for the rest they are very mature and serious and I'm not trying to say all 16 and 17 year old aren't mature i'm only saying some of them are and it can get in the way of their studies/learning and i would like to add its very much the states and country's opinion because they run the elections but 16 and 17 year olds should not vote its very school time taking and many 16 and 17 year olds very much think they are grown and can act grown but don't be in a rush to grow up and become 20 or 30 because once you hit that actuall age you wont really like it because you have jobs possibly children and lots of bills like taxes water bill electricicity and grocery and it encourages them to grow up
In my opinion 16 and 17 year olds should not be able to vote because they are too young! I say this because some teenagers or young adults like to play around joking when voting. Most of the time teens don't know much about voting so they take this as a privilege. Teens should do more research when voting because most teens get their information from social media such as TikTok, Instagram, and more. At this age students are still in school! I feel that the voting age should wait until legal voters are done with school. I say this because without finishing school and voting you don't know all the information because you haven't learned the information in the other grades. I think the legal voting age should be 19 or older.
Hi I'm loved_significance and I think that 16 & 17 year olds should be able to vote across the globe because votes are more likely to raise up. I say this because let's say we were back to the day we had to vote between Kamala Harris & Donald Trump,16 and 17 year olds would have most likely picked Kamala Harris which is most likely what people who are to young to vote wanted. Another reason is that if we are able to join the army at 17 with parental consent before we can vote I think that wouldn't be fair because we can die before we can even get the chance to vote at all. My next reason is that once we are 16 & 17 they would be more likely to have enough knowledge to know what choice is best. In conclusion this is why I think that 16 & 17 year olds should be able to vote across the globe.
I think that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote in a political election would not improve elections mostly because of the lack of education. For example, people that are the age of 16 or 17 are still in only 11th grade meaning they still have 12th grade and college to finish. And also because about 70% of colleges teach politics as a designated class while high schools take it in AP classes and not as a set course.
I also think that 16 and 17 year olds should not be able to vote because in the United states, 18 is the age you legally turn into an adult and are allowed to own a car, own a house etc;.
One more additional reason l think 16 and 17 year olds should not be able to vote is because for so many decades, 18 has been the age people have been allowed to vote so it would just be random to change the age restrictions.
I think 16+ shouldn't be able to vote because they can sometimes be a bit irresponsible and just copy what their friends have said to look cool . But sometimes 16 Yr olds can be responsible and make their own choices like earning money ,saving or working and should be able to vote so its in-between for me ☆
I think that allowing 16 year olds and 17 year olds is a good idea because it worked well in countries like Scotland and Austria compared to 18 year olds. Also, in the UK, it could add 1.5 to 1.6 million voters! Also, according to research, that is 2.4% of the British population! It also gives a chance to prove they're mature enough, and maybe, just maybe, the 16 year olds might be able to be classified adults if it was an educated guess.
In conclusion, this could have massive benefits towards 16 and 17 year olds.
I personally believe that permitting all 16 and 17, year, olds to vote would lead to better elections since it creates a "habit of participating in democracy" even before young people reach the "transitory periods" of their late teens.
One of the reasons for my opinion is the "First, time Voter Boost" that has been witnessed in countries like Austria and Scotland. Research shows that when 16, year, olds vote while still living at home or going to school, they have a stable environment to engage in issue debates. In fact, the study on the 2021 Scottish elections revealed that the voters who got their franchise at 16 were more likely to keep voting years later compared to those who started at 18. So, by simply lowering the age, we are not only increasing the number of voters; rather, we are creating a more politically engaged electorate in the future.
Furthermore, out of all the "big" issues today, such as climate change and the national debt, our generation will definitely be the one facing the consequences. So, it is quite unfair that politicians would draw up a 50, year plan without asking the people who will be living in 2076!
On the contrary, I have noticed some people on the Hub worry that 16-year-olds are "easily influenced" by social media. I’d argue that because we’ve grown up with the internet, we are actually better at spotting "fake news" than some older generations.
What do you think? Are 16-17 year old teenagers mindful enough to vote or do they need more life experience ?
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because it would allow more than a millions teenagers to have their voices heard as they get to have a say on what happens in their country.This is important as many things the government do will impact their future. This is also good as some teenagers have low self esteem and this can make them feel important and heard.
In my belief 16 years old people shoudn't vote for their leaders because from my point of view most of them aren't enough mature for having an actually vote.By the way I think people must give to them any other way to listen what they think,like an event in which young teenagers can share their opinions and then make them listen to the rest of the country to mentalise the voters what they also wants.In conclusion I believe 16 years old people shoudn't vote as formal as the adults but also have other way to make them be listened.
I think that the government should allow ages 16 and 17 but can be risky to the government and people who disagree on the matter. Social media also plays a big role in this debate as it can alter and effect people’s decisions and social media’s influence could be wrong untruthful which can make debates and elections less effective and fair.
I personally strongly beleive that 16 and 17 yr olds should definitely be allowed to vote. Honestly, I would happily vote myself if I could. Politicians make choices about school, the environment, and our future jobs, but we don’t get a single say even though it affects us the most. That to me, doesn’t feel right.
A lot of people my age actually care and pay attention. We talk about this stuff online, in school, with friends, and even here! Some of us even work or pay taxes in certain areas or countries. Essentially, the government is choosing vital options for our lives, whether that is in the future or present, but we can’t help decide what happens.
If teenagers could vote, elections would actually start thinking about the future and not just short-term comfort for older voters. I want our generation to help shape the world that we’re going to live in for the next 50+ years.
For me ultimately, letting 16 and 17 year olds vote isn’t just fair, it’s completely necessary.
I am open to hearing others perspectives and views in continuing this discussion!
I disagree because, if 16 year olds are allowed to vote, it could lead to problems because , they are not mature enough and cannot be trusted to make decisions on their own. They might even be prone to indulge in things like collection of bribe which might be a reason to participate in electoral violence. I could also say that they might even be influenced by outward appearances instead of carefully looking through to choose the right candidates.
I strongly agree cause in my opinion they are mature enough to make their own decision, because it will help build their abilities to think critically and observe happenings around. For example, a 16 or 17 years old who is allowed to vote will know that a lot is at stake and so, upgrade their decision making process. They will carefully analyze and xray their choiced candidates because whatever decision they take might determine their future for a long time.
Thank you!!!
I agree with lowering the voting age, because at that age they can actually make a change in the world they become an adult in they don't have to accept the decisions of others dictating how their adult lives start, as opposed to older people who are in the later stages of their lives and might not feel the long term effects of a choice like that. I mean in countries like the US and the UK where the minimum age for joining the military is 16, where at that age you can risk your life for your country why shouldn't you be able to make decisions for the future of your country? Some people, might argue that at 16 you are too "immature" to make such a big decision, but are you not also too immature to put your life on the line, and statistics even show how that is not true.
No! because 16 and 17 years are not old enough. The age where one could be termed as an adult is 18 years, at that age, they could be trusted to make decisions. They might not even know who the contestants are, they might just be influenced by social media trends and hype. So they will vote people based on their feelings not thinking seriously about their abilities.
I think 16 year olds should be allowed to vote in elections because they might be able to choose the right leader if properly guided. For instance if there is an election and all of them do not participate in such elections because it is presumed that they will vote for bad leaders, not knowing they might possibly vote in a good leaders because they also have the experience to know what they really need to secure their future . Another reason for strongly agreeing to allowing 16-17 years old into the voting scene is that, their minds are still young and void of
corruption so they will not be easily influenced by corrupt practices and social media hype. I believe they will choose right leaders so thy could secure their future. Thank you.
I think that allowing all 16-17 year olds to vote would benefit the elections, the leader of our country leads everyone in the country so we should make the effort to make sure that we make this available to everyone that we can. At the age of 16 you have reached the next level of your education, you have the responsibility to decide your next steps, if they can be trusted to do this they can also be trusted to contribute to the Political decisions of our country. At the age of 16/17 you are still required to be in education, therefore educational institutes can adopt the responsibility of teaching the young people about their options in an unbiased environment.
Young people deserve the right to have a say in who runs our country, if they can join the Army at 16 then they should be able to have a say in the decision of who they are fighting for. How can we trust 16 year olds to train for our country without the opportunity to have their voices heard.
Although some of the changes that come into force within the General Elections may not directly impact these young people at this moment in time, it will impact their futures or impact them indirectly.
If they are educated on all of the possible outcomes, they understand what they are voting for and the significant impact that their voices can have on our country, we will benefit from the additional voters, as it is providing more people with a platform to allow their voices to be heard.
In my opinion allowing all 16 and 17- year olds to vote would improve elections because it gives the chance for younger people to get involved and give their vote in society and the public. One reason for my view is that when they get over the age of 18 it would be their first try to do something as important. I also agree with ineffable groundhog and his reasoning.
I think that 16 and 17 year olds should have a right to vote as adding extra members to the public votes, this can make elections more fair and a more democratic process for voters. This is one of many factors that could change elections and UK politics for a long time. But this can seem risky for many reasons too as young generations vote could be changed due to social media. Influencers on social media can lie and tell you just what they need, where as the other candidate could be promising he would do something which could help all of us including him. But this is where another point comes in, prime ministers could lie and say they would do something good but they actually never do it.
I think allowing 16-17 years old to vote will not improve the country's election. Because, some teenagers do not watch news, which are meant to educate people about what happens around their environment. Some teens don't really care about what is happening around them. Rather, they rely on their devices, which is in appropriate for them. 18 year olds are considered adults, in which are allowed to chose leaders. In African countries like Nigeria, the appropriate voting age is 18 and above are allowed to vote, because they have listened and watch news which helps them to make the right decisions on who to vote for.
I think 15,16 and 17 should help choose who the leader is because they get to use their own voice and say I want this person to be prime minister. In other ways like voting for what your mum voted for the same person or your mum forced to vote for the same person, I think that shouldn't be allowed but if you want the same person to be prime minister you can be allowed to vote for the same person.
I think allowing all the 16 and 17 year olds to vote is a bad idea. I understand that some are serious about politics but that is just a fraction of all children over 16 who don't really understand politics and just vote randomly. Scientists know that children under 18 aren't as developed as 18 or 19 year olds. But if the parliament can put a class in school about politics then maybe allowing all of the 16 and 17 year olds is a good idea. This special class would be hated at first because why should the government add another class but with the right teacher it would be fun and helpful to learn about voting and politics. I don't see the government of the UK thinking about this idea so, for now, this is a bad idea.
I think allowing 16-17 year- olds to vote wouldn't improve elections because according to scientists, the human brain doesn't finish developing until the mid-20's. One reason for my views is that I believe 16 year old children don't have a very good sense of judgement, so they shouldn't make such an important decision for the rest of the country.
I think all 16 and 17-year-olds voting would not improve elections because they’re not mature and rational enough for their vote to be one that has been thought through. Also I think 16 and 17-year-olds are mainly influenced by social media for example Tiktok, Instagram and even from Whatsapp. One reason of my view is based on what I saw on Tiktok this morning and what I talked about in English class. So basically this morning I was watching a reel on TikTok and it said that the football player Ronaldo has died in his mansion and there was also a fake post that they claimed it was posted by his partner. Of course I know that’s not true I also checked the newspaper and personally i believe the official newspaper over misleading information. Although I’m under 16, I consider myself a mature person because I don’t believe everything I see online. Moreover I have been taught by my teachers that every single time I see a very interesting piece of news, I should always go to the official newspaper and check to male sure it’s true. In conclusion, social media can create rumors and misleading information that can even harm people and 16-17 year olds are more likely than other age groups to believe this misinformation.
I think that 16 and 17 year olds might not
improve elections very much but I also dont think that they wont affect it negatively as they are still under 18 and are minors wich means their parents still decide most of their life which would probably invlude who they vote for. I think that most of the 16 and 17 year olds will be very influenced by their parents. If I was a parent and was voting for someone to win I would try to convince my child to vote the same as me. On the other side of the story I dont think that teens this age are ready for politics this important like a nation wide election that can decide the future of the entire country but there are some exeptions as some people this age are very well prepared for politics and are very educated. Im 12 and I think that I am ready for these types of things but that doesnt mean that everybody can understand politics the same. The magnitude of nation wide elections is too important for some 16 year olds. In my opinion I dont think that teens should vote in elections but even if they did i think they wont affect it very much, but I alao think that they could be a good inclusion to city wide elections.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote wouldn't improve elections because they don't have the knowledge to make this kind of important decisions.
One reason for my view is that, acording to the scientists, the human brain doesnt finish developing unitl the mid-20's, so their votes are not useful because they can change the country's future in a bad way.
My opinion is that 16-17 years old are voting on what they hear not what they need !
Because every 16-17 year old has phones or pc’s and they hear millions of opinions that affect the critical thinking abilities of these 16 years old and they think that the posts with more likes is automatically more correct than posts with less likes even if the posts are coming from accredited News sites.
If milions of 16 and 17 year old’s vote only agreeing with the most liked post on social media, that create a very misinformed vote and could mean an unqualified leader is elected.
I think allowing all 16 & 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because it would bring fresh, future-focused voices into a system that often ignores young people even though we are the future of the world and most probabaly want a good future. One reason would be that teenagers today are more politically aware than ever as we see news on social media daily whether we like it or not, debate issues like climate change and education at school which is obviously directly connected to us, and live with the consequences of political decisions for decades to come even if it wasnt put upon us by us. I disagree with Topical Talkers who say young people are “too immature,” because maturity isn’t decided by age alone; many adults vote without understanding the issues, while many teenagers take the time to learn and care and are aware of our future. Letting 16 & 17 year olds vote wouldn’t weaken democracy, it would strengthen it by making it more representative of the future.
Im my opinion I think they should lower the voting age although there are the risks of the 16 and 17 yr olds voting off what they have seen online instead of their own opinion but some 16 and 17 yr olds are mature enough to vote and use their opinion
Have you ever thought about the voting system? Well, I have and I think that 16-year-olds should not help choose leaders because of how easily they believe in people. Sixteen-year-olds are very social, and if someone they are close to or believe in says something about choosing a candidate, they may just follow their advice. Most 16-year-olds don’t understand consequences well yet. People at that age aren’t as well as adults with voting or making decisions. They also don’t research or look into the person. Sixteen is an age when people care less about things. So they would just follow what they want or what someone else said.
For these reasons, I think that 16-year-olds should not help choose leaders.
Exactly my point. 16/17 year olds are minors that are still fully under the control and guidance of their parents, and they act on the instructions of their parents. They don't know the consequences of some of their actions talk more of the consequences of electing a bad leader. So it won't be right to allow 16/17 year olds to choose leaders.
In my opinion, allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because they are socially active and can gain education from social media platforms. By socially active, I mean they know what’s going on through social media. Unlike older people, 16 and 17-year-olds can easily spot Artificial Intelligence (AI) faster than other age groups. The people of this age group seem to be more inquisitive. For example on TikTok, they’d look through posts to try to find more evidence, information, and reasoning which may lead them to other platforms or different posts.
Adults may be in Echo chambers because they’ve had their opinions longer, while 16-17-year-olds can be more open-minded. Because 16 and 17-year-olds are still most likely in the household of their guardians, their decisions for the elections may or may not be influenced by other deciders. Though that may be possible, devices can listen to conversations, and like I previously mentioned, once they start scrolling on a platform, and the conversation topic will come up and the cycle may start again.
This is why I believe that 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to improve elections with their vote.
I think only 18 and above should be able to vote for elections because we children and teens don’t realy know.And we probably wouldn’t really watch tv or look at newspapers because we wouldn’t know who to pick who’s better because if it happened we might just choose a random person by there looks and there personality. So I think that 16 and 17 should not be allowed to vote 🗳️👍🗣️🙅🏼♀️
Bye 👋
I think that people under the age of 18 should not be able to vote because teenagers use tick-tock and other browsers like this.This means that that if someone posts something like choose this person then they may be lead into this and choose that person without looking at anyone else.But adults are more responsible and are less likely to be lead into these sort of things.Therefore, I think people aged 16 should not be allowed to vote for leaders.
I think it won’t because they might make it a trend about not voting and they might just mess about and they shouldn’t be focused on that because they have to study for tests.
Interesting answer - how do you think you could influence younger voters to vote responsibly?
For me, I believe that allowing 16–17-year-olds to vote won't improve elections very much. Personally, I think 16-17-year-olds would be entering an important stage of their life, preparing to become an adult. I think stacking on the pressure of voting that early would only stress them out and make them less willing to vote. I also believe that they would have many other things to focus on, such as schoolwork, or their family, or many other tasks they would have at hand, so I think voting would be the least of their worries. I don't think this will apply to the majority of this age group, but I do believe that quite a lot of people would agree that 16-17 is an important time to a teenager's life, and as I mentioned before, they would have many things on hand to prepare for their life ahead. Also, 16-17-year-olds are still legally minors (in a majority of countries, around 200, based off of worldpopulationreview.com, which was just updated this year), meaning they would have a guardian to live with. I know this won't apply to everyone, but many family members would pressure their youth to vote for the family's preferred political party, and many of the youth would not like to deal with this. You can also experience political pressure from other persons, such as friends and such. I had personally experienced this, and it had made me feel less willing to vote. There are teens out there that want to change their country with a vote early on, but this is where free speech would come in handy, before they can vote. We can still make a change without votes! Thank you for reading!
I disagree because for me I think that they can get influenced easily, and they are not adults yet because adulthood start's from eighteen years above (18-above)
How could there be unbiased education for minors that could help not just under 18s but older voters as well?
I disagree because. I Think that old people has more wisdom and sense of maturity than young people.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because young people have Important ideas about what matters for their future. One reason for my view is that 16 and 17 year olds will live with the results of elections longer than anyone else. When leaders make decisions about climate change, schools, and jobs, teenagers have to live with those choices for decades. It makes sense to let them have a say in those decisions since they're the ones affected most . Another reason is that many 16 and 17 year olds are already responsible. Some have jobs, pay taxes, and care about their communities. if they're old enough to work and pay taxes, it seems fair to let them vote too. However, I understand why some people disagree. They might say that 16 year olds aren't old enough to make such Important choices, or that they don't know enough about politics yet
In my own opinion, I come to a state that allowing 17 and 16 year olds could bring the election to a new turn.
This is because with new young voices and new ideas, this could make the election more equal for everyone if everybody could have a say. So, this could bring everything to a new height with young minds having an option in who is elected as well. Also, in some education they teach about governments and elections, and being newly learnt about it can make you understand it more than others and your ideas on who should be voted would be fresh. In addition, voting for your governor is a really important decision, so younger people can feel like they have a say of they are able to vote.
After this conclusion, I believe that 17 and 16 year olds should have a right to vote for who is their governor.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year old to vote would improve the election because if they are old enough to pay their Income Tax but why can't they Vote?also In my opinion most of the decision made by today's government are going to affect the youth in the future since we are the one who are going to be affected, if we have a say have a se we can reduce the problems right? If youth where allowed there would be a global economic change because many politicians now a day or not paying attention to the student needs such as reducing student loans & developing infrastructure for studying if youth are allowed they may focus on these problems which have a great impact because if many education problems are reduced the country can create more educators which help the country in many ways. Studies from Austria and Scotland shows that those who have been voting since 16 from their first time have been voting ever since their countries had developed because studies say if a person votes in a stable environment like home or School they create alife long habit. If they vote at 18 it is just when the chaos starts like moving out or finding job they might skip few election because of these things. If we see the other side it's a bit confusing because in the eyes of law a 16 year old is a child they can't buy alcohol or even join military without a parent permission it is confusing to say that they were adults for voting and child for everything else. Also most 16 year old lives at home and their might be follow their parents. so do you think allowing 16 and 17 year old would be greator not.
You've made good arguments for both sides - which do you agree with?
I think that people age 16-17 are not suitable for voting because at that time they often fail to make appropriate decision.this is because they remain fully busy with their studies,and their thinking power is not yet strong enough.although they grow up as citizens,they do not become complete good citizens at that age.
at this stage,they give more importance to others 'opinions that their own.they often consider others ' views as the best and become dependent on others.many times,due to popularity,personal interest,or selfish motives,they are influenced to vote for the wrong person.
a good citizen is the greatest asset of a country.they key to national development lies in good citizens.however,the qualities of a good citizen are not properly reflected in them at that age.
we know that to become a good citizen,three qualities are necessary:intelligence,self control,and moral judgment.these qualities are often absent among them.they fail to use their intelligence and conscience properly at the right time.they cannot clearly understand what is right and what is wrong decision.
moreover,conscience is the awakened power of a good citizen,and it plays a major role in shaping a responsible citizen.the best way to overcome these obstacles is to educate citizens with proper civic education.because a single wrong decision can cause great damage to a country.
therefore,i believe that from the age of 18,people become capable of voting according to their own independent decision.
I think allowing 16 and 17 would not be bad as long as they know what they are doing and they were not forced by anybody or bribed by anybody and they know a bad leader and a good leader from experience. Thank you, economist foundation.
I disagree because... I think the young can be influenced easily especially by social media.
Do you have evidence for this?
I think allowing all 16-17 years old to vote will help improve elections because it would give young people a real say in decisions that affect their future. One reason for my view is that many political choices such as education funding, climate change policies and job opportunities will shape their live for decades, so it is fair that they have a voice in choosing their leaders. Also voting in a younger age could help build good democratic habits early, making people more likely to stay interested and involved in politics as adults, so why shouldn't young people have a say in shaping the future they will live in.
yes 16,17,18 year old people should vote because everyone should have a say
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year old to vote will improve election because they will be more population and also there will also be a fair play because every one will be happy voting for example if the government did not allow the teenagers from 16 _17 year old it won't be fair so they should have an opportunity to vote in an election thanks.
I think allowing all 16-17 year olds to vote would make elections better because young people recognize issues that adults usually ignore.
When you are younger, you tend to question rules more easily. For instance, in school, if the schedule is not fair or if a rule does not make sense, it's usually the students who brings it up first. Adults tend to adapt to systems because they are familiar with them. This is the same mentality that is seen in politics. Many issues that are long standing, such as old education policies or internet safety policies, remain in place because the older generation has adapted to them, but the younger generation is still living through them.
I recall a class disscusion where students were more candid about mental health issues and exam pressure than adults tend to be. This made me realise something important: young people tend to discuss problems before society formally recognizes them. If these voices make it into politics, governments could solve problems sooner.
Others may argue that young people lack maturity. However, being removed from power can sometimes lead to better decison making. Those who have been within a system for decades may be loyal to it. Those who are still within it may question it. Both views combined lead to better decisions.
I think that 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote.
I think that because every person deserves a say because someone could have a idea that could potentially change the country like another way to grow crops or stop deforestation .But as younger people , from the age of 16-17 have to wait some time to be able to vote for who they think is a good president .Even if 18 year olds are the youngest adults , 16 and 17 year olds could improve elections because there will be more votes and there is a chance another party could win .If we start letting 16-17 year olds vote start now, we could influence other countries to let 16-17 year olds vote and make the world a better place.
Thank you for reading my comment !
I believe that 16 and 17 year old should be able to vote as well as other adults above 18 year old .
With allowing them to express who they think should be allowed to represent their country , 16 and 17 year old want the best person to to represent them ,they also have dreams for their country which helps them with their minds . Although, people disagree and say that they are too young or that they are not sensible but they really maybe even one day become a important person in life .So why not allow 16 and 17 year old vote ?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote will improve the election because most adult who are about 18-24 year old often vote at low rate, especially does who move for works or college, but 16-17 year old teenagers who are more likely to live at stable address will bring about high rate of participation in election and political activities. Younger adults (16-17 year old) will live longer with concequences of todays policies, their inclusion will slightly rebalance election towards long-term planning.
Good day every one. it's interesting cookie here and i want to comment that 16 yrs old should be allowed to vote. They should be allowed to vote because adult think that teenagers have low mentality not knowing the order. We are underestimated because people think that we are kid but they don't know that we are still going to be the leaders of tommorrow. Allwo 16 yrs old to vote will promote the the election practices and also improve in the nations way of life
I think allowing the 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because a certain part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed at the age of 16 and 17 they are not fully responsible and independent for their environment. The 16 and 17-year-olds mostly rely on social media which means whenever they don't know what's happening around they go on to believe whatever they see on social media.
Do you think that education in schools would prepare 16 & 17 year olds for voting or is there another way they could learn more?
I agree because you have mentioned the social media presence that many 16-17 year old are affected with,even though media influences shouldn't be sharing there political opinion online many of them do and as wrong as that sounds we watch it and we listen and the ideas form in our head mending it to be how others think.Even though we may not realize it but everything influences our political opinons our surroundings our people around us and everything we see and watch online.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because most 16 and 17-year-olds are in school,doing after school activities or going to work after school.Also some of them would not vote even if they could.In adishin studies show it takes well into the mid-to-late 20s sometimes going into the early 30s which means the best choice could not be made.This is why I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because the young are the leaders of tomorrow and the decisions of the government is what will affect the situation of the future. I think allowing them to vote will give them a chance to vote the person who they feel is the best to improve their future's situation. So therefore, I think the voting age should be reduced to 14 years.
yes because we can vote more better rulers that can control and maintain this beautiful country and develop it. so to me at least 15 or even lower should
in my opinion i think that 16 year old should not be allowed to vote because our minds aren't fully developed as of right now and we as teenagers can be influenced and peer pressured by the opinions of our friends and especially close family,therefore this can be detrimental to what we actually think as a individual.However on the other hand others might disagree as when we are 16 our minds are fresh out of education and a lot of what we are voting for is going to affect us so many people could argue that it would make sense if we would be allowed to vote because after all it is our future and our voices need to be heard.
Encouraging voting for 16 and 17 year olds would help improve elections because many teens of this age grade already know about social and political problems that can affect their future. With proper education and guidance, they could make votes that could help change the society in a good manner.
I think 16s should not be able to control herself I think 25 since when that's when you are an adult. Psalm 16 and 17s are thinking that they can control theirselves when they cannot since they are not an adult yet.
I think that 16-17 aged should not vote because, if they vote something very silly, they could get in trouble. There might be an accident. Only above 18 you can vote because, you can handle the situation. 16 and 17s can not handle the situation. Parents have to keep control of the children so they don't vote by an accident. Police could get invoved by children and parents and getting in prison. So if you say 16-17 vote, I disagree with you!!!!
I believe 16 year olds should be able to vote as they are also going to be affected by political issues and decisions that the government make. They are specifically going to be impacted by decisions around the education system and minimum wage changes. 16 year olds are trusted to work and make decisions on schooling that will affect their futures irrevocably so it seems unreasonable to assume that they should not have a say in political issues also. Also, they are going to grow up into adults and should have a choice on how their own futures will be shaped.
I agree with letting 16 to 17 year old humans being able to vote because then more of the human population will be able to share their opinions with the world.
The same with topical talk. This website was made for younger people in their youth to share their opinions with the world.I think it would be better if 16 and 17 year old people can vote. 16 is an old enough age to vote. It lets them have more resposabilety in poletix and more knolage for the groun up world.
I think it would improve elections by having more opinions and votes.
Byeee have a good day!!!
Hi, I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because everyone deserves a say and so children can get involved in discussions too.
If you think about it, you will understand that all of us need at least a speech to work on.
I think that 16 and 17 year old's should vote because it will help young people speak up and say their opinions.The world is starting to think more about what everyone wishes as the years go by.I have been reading the Secret Garden and just by reading it I have seen that children have been underestimated and that they are supposed to be seen not heard!But that was in the 1900's and the world has ever since evolved and is including children's opinions as well as adults.That is by letting people AND children vote.BYE!!!
What an original comment, friendly_juniper! I really like your example of using the book The Secret Garden to demonstrate how children have been underestimated in the past.
I think this is a good idea because it will help young people step out of the shadows and feel like their voices are being heard.But at the same time I think young people should not be aloud to vote for something dangerous.Back in the years children have been underestimated but that was in the past and were all about the future
They would be better so younger people can vote and loads of votes would be submitted so they really should do that in order to have more votes submitted it is a good idea if they added 16-17 years old to vote
I think that allowing all 16 and 17- year-olds could better or worsen elections and here is why:
Firstly, allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds would mean adding over 1.5 million votes, and since teenagers are taught about debating and politics in school, they are likely to already have a strong opinion formed, and are able to reason out, back up their final decision. The governments’ decisions today affect their lives tomorrow, so I find it unfair that they don’t already have a say and aren’t given the opportunity to speak out for themselves.
On the other hand, there will always be teens who take this opportunity as a joke and just vote whatever without any reasoning. There might also be teens who are influenced by their friends or family members, afraid to speak out and wanting to fit in, which could affect the outcome of the election. In addition, they could also be influenced by rumours online, rumours that use emotional manipulation and are in favour of a particular undeserving candidate.
Allowing teens as young as 16 and 17 could mean that they develop as sense of confidence in their decision and could enable them to ignore emotional manipulation, leading to more fair elections and thriving countries.
Today we were discussing what we should do with £100,000.
I think we should first spend it on food and with the money left over we should go on a holiday because a holiday is a want and food is a need but it really depends because if you are going on holiday to see your family it is a need .
I dont think you should spend it on wants because if you want to spend all of the money on toys or other things you want, you might not have enough money to buy needs like food.
What do you think ???
I believe that 16 and 17-year-olds should NOT be able to vote and choose leaders. In my opinion , they should not have the power to vote and should not choose our leaders and prime ministers.
To start this off, I think that they should not have any power to even vote in the first place. According to Google, in the United States, only 42 percent of 18-29-year-olds participated in the 2024 presidential elections. This shows how letting 16 and 17-year-olds vote is a waste of time and energy for the government. Plus, it's not even guaranteed that the entire 16 through 17-year-olds would even vote. Going back to the 18-29-year-olds, this just shows how some people are lazy and don't go and vote.
Additionally, echo chambers are a factor. An echo chamber is basically when you only hear your point of view and don't comprehend other points of view. Sixteen and 17-year-olds are in the most social parts of their life, so they are going to believe in their own views and make them stronger, and sometimes it makes bad views stronger.
In conclusion, I believe that 16 and 17- year- olds should not be able to vote in the elections.
I think letting 16 and 17- year-old vote could improve elections in some ways, but also brings challenges.
On the positive side, young people are the ones who will live with the long term consequence of today's decisions, so giving them a voice could make elections more forward thinking. Many teenagers are already engaged in issues like climate change, education, and technology, so their votes might push leaders to focus more on the future instead of short term promises.
But there are also reasons to be cautious. At 16 not everyone has had enough political education to understand how parties, politics, and elections work. Teenagers are still developing their own opinions which mean they can can be vulnerable to pressure from parents, friends or online influencers. Social media can spread misinformation quickly, and younger voters might struggle to separate facts from persuasive content. Some people also argue that voting should come with a certain level of life experience.
Overall, elections could become mor future - focus and inclusive,
but only if school also teach young people how to understand politics and make independent decisions like topical talk does.
Good bye topical talkers 👍
Hi, I'm devoted_owl! I think that 16 year olds should not be able to vote for leaders or important things. I feel like their brains are not developed enough to make decisions like that. 16 and 17 year olds can get manipulated into voting for somebody that they should not have voted for. Although a 2 year difference may seem little, people can become more mature and correctly vote. There will also be many more people that can vote. They might make incorrect decisions changing the winner. Some 16 year olds can be the ones manipulating others. 17 year olds might manipulate the soon to be 16 year olds or already 16 to vote for the person they want to win. They can be immature and use the power of voting to threaten or even spread false information about people using it as a joke. This is why I believe 16 and 17 year olds should not have the right to vote for leaders.
I think allowing a 16 and 17 year old vote would not improve elections. I say this because they can vote for the wrong person. There are young so people can manipulate them. They are not mature enough to vote and they can mess the vote up. Imagine they just pick the bad person for their fame instead of picking the good person and then the bad person win because of them. That's crazy and could mean bad things are coming our way. They could make tax more expensive or even order people to break things down since they don't like the look. Could you even imagine that? That's a bad thing not a good thing! If only adults vote that's good since they are mature and know what's bad and what's good. To sum everything up this is why 16 and 17 year olds should not vote.
Allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote may not necessarily improve the democratic process, as most individuals in this age group lack sufficient exposure to politics and governance. At this stage of life, they are still in higher secondary education, where their main focus is academics rather than understanding political systems, public policy, or the long-term impact of leadership decisions. Their political knowledge is often limited and influenced by what they see on social media, peer opinions, or popular culture, rather than informed analysis.
Teenagers are also more likely to be influenced by emotions and popularity than by rational evaluation of candidates. For example, in our country and even in our state, cinema actors with massive fan followings often contest elections. Young voters who admire these celebrities may vote for them based on fandom rather than assessing their qualifications, political experience, or policy agenda. In such cases, they may not fully understand the opposing candidates or the broader consequences of their vote.
Voting is a serious responsibility that requires maturity, critical thinking, and awareness of social and economic issues. Since 16- and 17-year-olds are still developing these skills, granting them voting rights could result in decisions driven by influence rather than informed judgment. Instead of lowering the voting age, greater emphasis should be placed on political education and awareness, so young people are better prepared to participate responsibly in elections when they reach an appropriate age.
In my opinion I disagree that 16-year-olds are able to vote. I say this because many 16-year-olds don't really understand voting that much. For example some 16-year-olds may just vote on what their friends think,or their parents. Some campaigns may lie to the teenagers. Saying that they will give out free money if they vote,or just lie to them completely. 16-year-olds don't really have a mind or idea of voting. If they are just randomly just choosing people. they wouldn't know if that person could have a bad impact on the country or place. However, if some 16-year-olds have a little bit of knowledge about voting. I think they can vote since they know where to check for real information about their election. Overall I believe that 16-year-olds shouldn't be able to vote.
Do you think 16 year olds should have the right to vote? Hi I’m brave_physics. In my opinion, I think people should be at least 25. First, the age the brain develops in decision making is 25. Therefore, I think they should be at least 25. Second, when you are older you are wiser. For instance, I have seen people who are very wise and make great decisions in many different ways. Lastly, if your brain if fully developed in making decisions then you will make better choices while voting. To explain, people can make better choices while voting if their brain is very developed. In conclusion, I think you should have the right to vote when you are at least 18, but I prefer 25.
In my opinion, I think allowing all 16 and 17-year olds to vote would not improve elections because they are young and not developed enough to make a decision like that. The decision making age for the brain to be developed is twenty-five, and to be fully developed it's 30. Therefore a 16 or 17-year old wouldn't know how to pick who he would want to serve for him/her.
A 16 or 17-year old is still going through puberty, so that is how you know a 16 or 17-year old is not developed. In my opinion I think a 16 or 17-year old is still being taught how to be a man/woman, so they will not know how to make a older decision. In order for a 16 or 17-year old to vote they will have to be developed or taught. If a 16 or 17-year old is trying to vote they will have to know about who they're voting for, so they have to watch news and they won't know the difference between real news and fake news. In conclusion a 16 or 17-year old is not developed enough to vote.
I believe that yes, 16-year-olds should help us choose leaders. They should help us choose leaders because it can be better chance for someone to win, because there will be more people who can choose, not just people who are 18 and above. Also, I believe that 16-year-olds should vote because they should have a say in their country. It shouldn't just be adults, depending on the country. If 16-year-olds have a say, then they might feel inspired, and they can help depend on our country's leaders.
I feel like it would be better if 16-year-olds voted because it would allow more people be able to choose who they think should be our country's leader, Also, 16-year-olds can get advice from people they know. Most 18-year-olds don't think about getting advice. Sixteen-year-olds might think about the better person, older people might just thik about who they know and may think they are better than the other.
This is why I believe that 16-year-olds should have a say in choosing our leaders.
Hi! I’m quickwitted_earth. I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because they could mess it up or make someone mess up. One reason for my view is that they still don’t have their full decision making ability in their brain. They might mess it up by not knowing what to do in the voting area. They might have also seen some false information that is not true about what they are voting for. Some of the teens also might not understand what they are even voting for. Some of the other people there might not let them put their vote in because it is not what the other teens chose. The teens of 16 and 17 could just guess or choose a random person because they don’t know what to do.I just don’t think they should vote because they are just too young. To sum everything up, I think 16 and 17 year olds shouldn’t vote.
In my opinion, I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds would improve elections because there are a lot of adults in the world who don't vote and if they don't vote they won't be able to fight for the president they want in the office. One reason for my view is if 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote that would add more to the society of people who vote for good, not voting just because they think that if the person they voted for won then they would give the money. That is why I believe 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote.
Hey, have you ever seen someone vote before? Well in my opinion I think 16-17 year olds would not improve their voting. First of all, teenage brains are not developed until age 25. If you don't believe me ask my brother because I wont lie he has done some unintelligent things in his life and he is 17 years old. Also, I wont say teens are unintelligent but I will say that teens aren't the smartest and probably believe things they see on the internet. This could make them vote for the wrong people and then also make something bad happen if they vote wrong. Also most times out of ten teens are the ones getting involved in all these shady things so i dont think we need teens screwing up their lives infecting the government like at all. Also teens are known to be the worst age group because they do things like bullying, cyber addiction, bad driving and other things like that. Also dont get me with some one who hates teens im just saying this also not all teens are bad. But that is why I think teens should not be able to vote but maybe that is just me. Also here's a joke. What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese 🤡. Anyway bye thats all.
you make some good points decisive_rambutan, but you seem to think that teenagers suffer from more flaws than adults of voting age do. There are some pretty misguided adults in those voting booths, too. The question is whether, even with their flaws and inexperience, people aged 16-17 should have their views represented in government, so that their government gets a signal of how to deal with issues important to them. What do you think?
Hi I'm loved_road ! I think that 16 and 17 year olds should not vote because their minds are not fully developed yet . The correct age to vote is 18. Did you know your mind is fully developed at 30 and they are only in their teens . They can also get easily manipulated by people who is wrong because they are super young . They can also be looking at other people's screens when they are voting . For example, they can walk around when they are getting to their computers and look at the other person's voting screen . They can also text someone before they vote to get their vote . Also he or she can poke a hole in the board so they can be the odd one out . My last example is that can be very obvious and ask someone who they are voting for . I think that 16 and 17 year old kids should not vote .
I think america should lower the voting age because older people don't do too much research on stuff
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would Improve elections because there will be more people voting. One reason for my view is if there are more people voting, there will be more votes. So, if someone doesn't agree with someone else, there will be more people to give their opinion on which person to pick. So, in my opinion, allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would Improve elections.
Honestly, I think 16-17 year olds would improve the elections because I feel that they would have the right mindsight to research about the person in the election and figure out their own decision about who they should vote for. Of course,this could go wrong;getting false information,but if they look in depth on political websites,I think they could possibly get a great perspective on that person in the election.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year olds to vote would not improve elections. Think about it, if their brains are not developed they wouldn't know who to choose and they would just pick someone random. Imagine you are just 16 or 17 and your voting for the president and you don't know who to choose because your brain is not developed so you might pick someone random or pick the person your family member chose. If 16 and 17-year-olds are voting the person who is doing good things their votes would go down because young kids are voting and they don't know who to pick. If 16 and 17-year-olds vote for the bad person as president it could make the community bad because their brains are not developed. If they are looking online and they see something on the internet about the election and hear fake news they might pick the wrong person.
I think allowing teens ranging from the age of 16-17 would not improve and would actually ruin elections because most teenager's opinions are heavily influenced by the political media. One reason for my view is Tiktok and Donald Trump, teenagers are so influenced by Tiktok because of the generalized opinion that Donald Trump is a horrible president ( not saying that he is ) . People especially young people want to follow the crowd to fit in. People at that age range are not fully mature and maybe lack common sense.
Hello it is outgoing_interaction here again with more news. The pros and cons of a 16 year old voting are that they might not know what they are talking about. In class we have had discussions about fake news and real news. What if they are talking about fake news? Also they can also not know what they are talking about. For example, there are videos about how people believe what they see on tiktok all the time. While young people might vote incorrectly, or how their brain might not be prepared for all the politics coming in voting.
I think that if young people had to vote, they would be easily influenced by their parents or social media. Their brains are not yet well-developed, and not all young people are interested in politics. Also, some people think voting should start at 18. On the other hand, allowing younger people to vote would give young people a voice in political decisions that directly affect their education, employment, and future. Since young people will live with the long-term consequences of government decisions, it is reasonable that they are given the right to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it allows more people to show their opinion on who they want to vote for. The reason for my view is one person who may be 16 years old can vote on who they want to be president.
If we let 16-17 year olds vote it would not improve elections because teenagers are heavily influenced by the internet. One reason is because I am almost a teenager and I'm heavily influenced by the internet.
In my opinion, I think that 16-year-olds should help choose leaders. I think they should because they are grown enough to help now, because they are about to turn 18, so they should start getting ready. Sixteen-year-olds are also very helpful in different types , such as technology, working on things, and helping with cleaning. That is why I think 16-year-olds should choose leaders.
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections and also not improve them.I think it would improve elections because children would get to have their say and opinions on who they think should be in charge.They would also know what to do in the future and it would also affect them when they get older.
I also think it may not improve elections by letting 16 and 17-year-olds vote as they are still studying and they also might not understand much about elections.People at this age could also judge the different parties not on their speech but some on how they look or talk.Also the age you are allowed to vote is 18 and at that age you are leaving college which means you would be mature enough to actually vote but younger,they might not.
Well done for consideirng both sides of the argument, harmonious_snake
I think allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would improve elections because the elections would be more clear and more people would vote.I think this because people between 16-17 are on social media more than others.This would make voting more accurate.This would make voting more accurate because the 16-17 year olds would have more information for voting.
I think 16 and 17 year olds should choose leaders because these are mostly juniors and seniors in high school which are getting ready for the real world which includes voting, and if they learn how voting affects not just that country but the world. Also because if you are 16 or 17 you can get emancipated which gives you the same rights as a person 18 or older. And if you want a middle solution they could teach about voting and basic adult skills in high school like during home economics, or a parent could teach them. All in all I think it depends on your country and your actions that could maybe help you decide the next leader.
I think allowing 16-17-year-olds to vote is a good idea. I think this because if we do, it will increase the total number of voters. The 16-17-year-olds can improve elections since there will be more votes. Teenagers can have different thoughts and opinions, which can change the votes of the person who was winning. They're also about to turn 18. Which is the age to vote. So this is why I think 16-17-year-olds can help choose leaders.
I think giving 16 and 17-year-olds the access to voting would not improve the elections because they are influenced easier than adults. One reason why I believe this is because young people are often on social media, correct? They get influenced by whatever everyone online is saying, they don't independently at times. They follow whatever is getting spread. Another reason is because of family, a family point of view makes a kid think a certain way too. For example, a grown-up could tell a kid that eating green things makes you tougher. The kid will believe the grown-up, no matter what, because the adult influences the youngling. My last reason is that minors naturally think whatever a person older than them tells them, because they think they're wiser since they've experienced more than them. For example, a older sister could say, "Mangoes are the best", to a younger sibling. The younger sibling will now think the same way. In conclusion, I deeply feel that 16 and 17-year-olds shouldn't vote because they are influenced too easily by the media, family, and older people in general.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because they are exposed to social media the most which would give them a better view of the political candidates. Another reason for my view is that older people are more prone to misinformation. They are not as good as deciphering misinformation from the truth leading them to choose the wrong candidate. Also, letting 16 and 17-year-olds vote would result in much more votes which could completely change the outcome of an election and let the better candidate win the election. These are all of my reasons. Do you agree or disagree with me?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it will get up to the high percentages on votes. One reason for my view is that you would believe some people you trust to vote for. That's why I think 16 and 17 years old would improve elections.
In my perspective, I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would be a good idea because, I feel like 16-17 year olds can have a very sophisticated mind set. A lot of parents keep their 16 or 17 year olds from voting but, I don't think its fair because 16-17 might have a say on voting and a bunch of 16-17 year olds have a mature mind set as well. Not all 16-17 year olds have a mature mind set but a lot of them have different personalities. So therefore, I feel like 16-17 should be able to vote and have a say!
No I think 16 years old and 17 year old should not choose the leader because a 16 year old and 17 years old is always on their phone on YouTube and when people give false things they might believe the false. So when they choose a leader and they might see a false thing about the leader they might believe it and not pick them. Everyone around the world will give false and tell the people and someone might tell the 16 and 17 years old. So the thing is why I don't think that a 16 and 17 year old should vote for a leader.
No I think 16 years old and 17 year old should not choose the leader because a 16 year old and 17 years old is always on their phone on YouTube and when people give false things they might believe the false. So when they choose a leader and they might see a false thing about the leader they might believe it and not pick them. Everyone around the world will give false and tell the people and someone might tell the 16 and 17 years old. So the thing is why I don't think that a 16 and 17 year old should vote for a leader.
In my opinion allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not enhance the electoral system. We do not know how all 16 or 17-year-olds act. Some 16 and 17-year-olds can be very immature. Especially if they don't know much about politics, law, and sociology. Letting 16 and 17-year-olds vote can be very dangerous as they can be influenced by many people.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-years olds to vote would not improve elections because 16 and 17-years old might not really care about the voting and just vote the person that their parents voted for. and I view why that they don't have much sense and might think that it is not important and ask their parents who to choose.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections, because for me 16 and 17-year-olds are still kids and aren't at that age to really think about their future. While others do think about their future. One reason I think this is that most 16 and 17-year-olds are at the age where they believe everything they see on the internet. And what most 16 and 17-year-olds don't know is that people get payed to do things like this. That is why I believe that allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote would not improve elections.
l agree because they are teenagers and they know what they are doing, some know laws, so the teenagers that know laws should vote
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote wouldn't improve elections because it could cause misleading information from the internet. Which can cause them to hop on thinking it's a trend when it really isn't and they may regret their choice in the long-run . For example if someone on the internet starts hyping up one person for the election. But not the other and it becomes a "trend" causing many 16 or 17 year olds that are on the internet to vote for that person because it's a trend so this is why I think they shouldn't have access to voting. Sometimes 16 or 17 year olds don't think for themselves at times which can cause misleading. So I believe that the shouldn't vote because of independence why I think they wouldn't improve elections .
In my opinion 16 year olds should help choose leaders because it`s not fair to put age restrictions on voting. 16 year olds may understand and I have a voice to help change for the better. Just because their 16,it doesn`t mean they can`t help the country rather than destroy it.
I think that 16 year olds should not help choose leaders for various reasons. My first reason is because they are still in school and I think that they most likely do not have the knowledge needed to make that decision. My second reason is because they might base their vote off of what their friends think so instead of voting independently they will vote based on what someone else thinks even when it's bad. My third reason is because they might go on Youtube or Tiktok and gather misleading information but since most of them believe in everything they see on social media they will vote for the wrong or other person.
I believe allowing all 16 and 17-year olds will improve elections because 16 and 17-year olds are responsible, some countries have been letting 16+ vote, and they have plenty of sources.
16 and 17- year olds are responsible because they are at a certain ages when there grown (only some 16 and 17- year olds) . These "Teens" should have a shot at elections. These 16 and 17-year olds can maybe prove other countries around the world who don't let 16 and 17-year olds vote ( including America ).
My next reason is some countries across the world have already started letting 16 and 17-year olds vote. According to this Topical Talk "Lowering the voting age", Austria, Brazil, Ecuador, and Malta are places who already allow voting for 16 and 17-year olds. Why shouldn't more countries do the same.
My finale reason is 16 and 17-year olds have many sources.According to this Topical Talk "Case Studies" 16 and 17-year olds have sources as Whatsapp and Tiktok. In this Topical Talk "Case Studies" they started making memes ,edits, and Trends (what some teens usually like), and shaped the mood of politics. It also states on the Topical Talk "Case Studies", young people had the strongest reactions in political parties.
Coming to an end, 16 and 17- year olds should have a chance to vote. Do you agree or disagree?
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because in social media, manipulation can really affect the elections. One reason for my view is the ads for the elections, the ads can spread misinformation online. The ads may tell 16 and 17-year-olds about who they should vote for. They may be biased and tell you to vote for that person because they did good acts, that could be misinformation.
I believe that 16 and 17 year-olds would not help improve elections. I think that because their still young and in school, plus they probably won't know what to do when voting. And even if they do know they might get mislead because 16 and 17 year-olds are new to voting and can easily be tricked by random people on the internet.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because 16 year olds would not know how to decide to vote and be too lazy to figure out what they are going to do to change the US and social media might lie about what they have done. One reason for my view is because 16 year-olds wouldn't take it seriously.
I think that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote is a bad idea because 16 and 17 year olds are easily persuaded and are very reckless. I know this because I have real life experience with teens because of my uncles. Most young people rely on what their family and friends say. While others just rely on the internet. Which has false information is very common on the internet. Also when you rely on your family you aren't having independent mind that you will need in the future and you will always rely on your family. Lastly, teens are usually too lazy to do research on the candidate. Which leads to making the wrong decisions.In conclusion 16 and 17 year olds should not be allowed to vote.
I believe that allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because their decisions, and opinions matter and could benefit, and provide a variety of different outlooks on each different perspectives. When not including 16 and 17-year-olds it could leave out and exclude a certain amount of a community, and cause unfairness, and unjustness.
I think that if young people had to vote, they would be easily influenced by their parents or social media. Their brains are not yet well-developed, and not all young people are interested in politics. Also, some people think voting should start at 18. On the other hand, allowing younger people to vote would give young people a voice in political decisions that directly affect their education, employment, and future. Since young people will live with the long-term consequences of government decisions, it is reasonable that they are given the right to vote.
I disagree that 16 or 17 year old's should pick leaders because choosing a leader is a heavy responsibility, like steering a huge ship through stormy seas. Leaders make choices that affect hospitals, schools and the future of the country, and these decisions need deep experience and understanding. Many teenagers are still learning about how the world works, let alone picking leaders there is just no way a 16 or 17 year old should be picking leaders like its a game this is a horrible idea and i don't think it should go through.
In most countries, 16 and 17-year-olds are considered minors, and they are not adults; so their opinions are not yet accepted. I think if they are allowed to vote, they would help the chosen or preferred candidates to emerge because the youths are the majority in most countries.
I believe that 16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote in elections, because, in my opinion, at that age many people have enough maturity to understand the importance of voting. In addition, this level of maturity is not required from older adults.
In this way, the interests and worries of young people would influence political decisions, which sometimes seem not to be well represented. Involving young people in political life is important so that they understand that their decisions can have an impact on society.
I dont think that 16 year olds should be able to vote because I don’t think they would have enough knowledge and understanding about what each political party stands for or what impact they would make if they were in charge of the country.
Therefore their votes could be based on guessing or influence from friends,family and social media which could create poor decisions that they later regret and sway the results unfairly.
I believe that 16-17 years old shouldn’t have the right to vote, but others might disagree with me and here is my reasoning from both sides.
Nowadays, adults aren’t really trusted compared to teens. For example, the police would normally ask the young suspects of the situation questions because they are more younger to manipulate because their brains haven’t adapted as much as young adolescents and adults, so if teens are more reliable to tell the truth, why can’t they vote, since they can be relied on to make the right decision.
Now, people say that teens are growing more irresponsible due to technology. Most teens and parents don’t get along as well is because of phone, iPads, laptops and e.c.t. but we heard the same arguments, ‘ Why can’t teens get off their devices! ‘ . If they are always on Social media, TikTok, Whatapps and Facebook, they would know all of the news that is going on around the world and can be easy to deceived them due to information repeatedly coming up can trigger the brain to think that what a particular group of people say online can to become true, even though it’s false information and if you don’t think about it, platforms like Social Media can spread rumours about a particular democracy quicker than words. It’s like a prime minister debating against an argument and then it gets twisted and then outcome of what person is completely different from the original and from all those points I have made, makes others not to trust teens 16-17 years old to vote independently.
That is everything from me, Thank you!
From my perspective and understanding,I believe that 16 and 17 year olds should not have the privilege to vote in an election.My reasons for this argument are influenced by social media platforms and limited life experience.
Influenced by social media:
Social media is often one sided meaning the teenagers that see this content won’t get many different views as if they read a newspaper or watched the news.Social media can also mislead, this means that if they see a the video many times they may start to believe it.
Limited life experience:
At their stage of life, their brain will be developing and they still have not seen many different places, cultures or people. This means that it will be difficult for them to make a thought through decision.
I think that allowing 16-17 year old people to vote will improve elections because people have their own rights to say what they think an also it could help them understand more about voting. It can also change their future life ahead as they start going to work, as they start knowing what is right to do and start reading about news.
At 16-17, in the UK, they can drink, drive, open a bank account, enter the workforce and leave school (unless you're in England), etc. They carry full responsibility for themselves, yet can't vote for political leaders who directly affect *their* future. By lowering the voting age, the youth can have a voice that politicians cannot ignore. We may not see a dramatic difference in elections, but it serves as fair representation for younger generations.
The whole point of a democracy is that the citizens choose who they want to run the country, because everybody has freedom of speech. It relies on active participation and inclusion. Despite that, we rule out one major group that can diversify and strengthen this. IF politics were taught in schools globally and children were encouraged to form their own beliefs, they'd eventually grow up to form their own political ideologies, albeit influenced by many environmental factors or genetics.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because they are directly affected as much as old people by many political decisions, such as climate change, technology, education and future opportunities. I strongly believe that teenagers are more informed than people think, since they learn about current events in school and have constant access to the news and different perspectives online.
One reason for my view is that by giving them the right to vote, they could demonstrate how responsible they are, develop new habits and respect different opinions. Finally, allowing them to vote could make elections more representative of the whole population and ensure that political decisions start considering the voices and opinions of the new generation.
Hi i'm fierce_computer and I feel like it depends on the person, on the knowledge, on the sense, and guidance they have while growing up or being influenced by the right people
Let me tell you why, with a story (made with imagination)
There was a child who was a star student, raised with kind, fair, just parents. Her mother was a lawyer, so was her father and was raised with no arguments, all good influences. She grew in wisdom, knowledge and matureness and she learned to be fair and adapt to different people and surroundings. She made a sensible vote.
On the other hand, a boy who grew up with 7 elder brothers, parents working in malicious companies earning loads of money overspending, wasting money, ending up bankrupt. The boy always got bullied, and felt like he was a burden, trying everything to please anyone. It was his time to vote, influenced by a drug dealer criminal he was forced to choose a point he didn't understand. Sadly he didn't have anyone to tell, little did he know it would have one of the biggest impact on the country ever.
I think that is why it depends on the overall person. These 16 year old's can be raised properly or can be easily influenced but the are used to the trend of the world like AI foolery so I am not sure what do you think Topical Talkers?
By for now! :)
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections since online lots of teens and people around this age vocate their political beliefs, since they aren’t allowed to vote, they try to express their beliefs on social media platforms.This shows that some 16-17 year olds are clearly politically active and would choose what they think is best for their future improving voting, however this is not to say it would change significantly considering some aren’t interested and wouldn’t turn up to the voting polls.This would make young people take a hold of their future and gain a choice in the world they want to grow up in.
I've seen 16-year-olds panic over math tests or who to ask for prom, and you expect them to evaluate tax policies and foreign affairs. 16-17-year-olds have a lack of maturity and do not properly understand how government or politics actually work; they also haven't experienced the responsibilities that come with adulthood, like paying bills, managing taxes, and most importantly, voting. These actions often shape a person's political values and demands on how government policies actually affect real life. For voting, they would pick something that follows their worldview or something that their parents want them to. Fraser Institute shows that the need for accountability flows through authority.
Yes, 16-17-year-olds can already make real choices; they can legally work, pay taxes, and drive. But this is dismissed by the fact that they are already allowed to make serious legal and economic decisions. Austria proves that young voters participate with responsibility by having the voting age 16, but most students don't learn this type of responsibility in school. They learn it through years of watching their parents pay the bills or fighting over who to vote for, but political responsibility is not taught to these 16-17-year-olds. So how can we trust them with making these political statements when they don't know how to properly file taxes?
In conclusion, I believe that the voting age should not be changed to 16-17.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds would improve elections because there would be more people voting and it gives younger people a chance to vote. Also citizens in this age group might listen to their family, friends, or whoever they are close to. This helps the younger people make a decision on who to elect, and in my opinion, would make voting more fair. For example, if one president has done something in the past or says they are going to do something in the future, these 16-17 year olds would think to themselves “If I vote him/her for president, would it have a positive or negative affect on me and the people around me?"
In my opinion, granting 16 and 17- year-olds the right to vote would trasform elections from a mere short-term political race into a visionary movement for the future. Today's youth are not only digitally fluent but also deeply conscious of global and social issue. Since they are the ones who will live longest with the consequences of today's political choices, their voice is essential for a true democracy. Including young voters would compel leaders to took beyond the 'next election ' and prioritize long-term stability, such as climate action and economic sustainability. This shift would inject a fresh sense of urgency and accountability into the heart of politics. Ultimately, involving the youth ensures that those with the greatest stake in the future finally have the power to shape it
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections due to the fact that young people should have a say how and by who the country is governed. I believe this as in numerous countries people at the age of 16 can work, pay income taxes, join the military or even marry. Another reason, would be that many people at the age of 16 are interested in politics, wanting to voice their views and get a chance of being heard.
Hello, my name is hopeful_beetle and today I am going to write about why I will not allow 16 and 17 years old to vote for elections. There are several reasons because of this. Firstly, from my point of view I think that this right is very important because can affect all the country during a long time and this can affect the economy and the wealths of the country, thats why I will not give them the right to vote. Also, is important to remember that most of the 16-17 years old people don't really know what is the best option for the country, and some people I know would want to have the right to vote only because a friend told him that is good to vote to something because can make the country bigger and thats not all true. My final decision is that if 16-17 years old people would like to vote firstly they will need to make an "exam" to know if that person knows about politics or only would like to vote because of the opinion of the others. And these are my reasons about if 16-17 years old people would have the right to vote in elections.
that's an interesting argument, hopeful_beetle. But your suggestion of making voters take an exam to test their knowledge raises a tricky question: why not make voters of all ages take that exam? There are plenty of adults who do not know much about politics, or who are guided only by others' opinions....
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote because its our country and you can make some decisions
I think 16 and 17 year old's are allowed to vote for stuff because when your younger you not only are smarter from being at school more recently, so they remember more knowledge , when you are young you are also more creative. Furthermore, it will increase their experiences and knowledge of the world and it will help them understand more.
I think that they should be able to vote since adults already are allowed to vote. I believe that teenagers are supposed to vote since the age group still is 18 but maybe, if the Government agrees, then people two years younger will be able to vote. Even though it will be more votes to count, there will be more people to vote so hopefully there will be a fair amount of people to be voted, but this is only my opinion. Not yours, unless if you agree of course!
I think that younger people should be allowed to vote. I think this because it will increase the amount of people who do vote and its also a way for them to learn about the world and see how cruel and how much people work to protect this country. Anyway, these people that are 16-17 have a creative mindset also that they just finished school and maybe even heading to university/college.
i think allowing 16 and 17 year old'sto vote because why can 16 and 17 year old's go to war but 16 and 17 year old's cant vote
hi original_seagull, I like to see you thinking critically about some of the things 16 and 17 year olds CAN do when they can't vote. In the UK, and in lots of other countries, 16 and 17 year olds can't go and fight in a war. You might be thinking of laws that we have had in the past, which are no longer true today.
in my opinion I think that 16-17 year old kids deserve the right to vote because there are 1.5 million sixteen and seventeen year old kids in the country. So one reason why they should deserve to the is because it is there country so they should have a say on who is going to run there country because they will be affected with the changes that would happen in there. reason two is if you can go to war at sixteen why are they not allowed to vote.
hi peaceful_orange, I like that you have given a reason for your opinion. In the UK, 16 and 17 year olds can't go to war and fight for the army. You have to be 18 to do this. You might be thinking of something you've learned in history about a time when 16 and 17 year olds did join the army and go to war. However, this is not a law we have in the UK now.
in my opioun i think 16 or 17 years old shoulod not be able to vote this is because they might not be mature enough to vote or they might not understand the politics. another reason is because most 16 or 17 years old are starting GCSES / MOCKS which means they should not have to worry aboout voting and focous on education
I don't think 16-17 should be able to vote as they would see stuff online and be influenced by others and not vote for there choice
they may also not be mature enough to vote .
Hi I am HELPFUL_SPEECH and I personally think that 16-17 year old's should be able to vote because they are very mature at that age and 16 year old's are in year 11 almost leaving school and 17 year old's are either 6th form or have left and matured and my call had a person come in yesterday and talk about should 10-15 year old's should be able to vote I think yes and no because there are some very mature people in that age group who know properly who to vote for and some not and they get easily influenced by things online so I think yes and no
I think that allowing 16 and 17 year old's is a good and bad idea . it can be a good idea because the younger minds can bring a different view to the hole thing and like miss young said that young people can be inspired by family but then it can be bad because young people which thing like tic tock which may say something bad about someone making you not want to vote for them and they are not as experience as adults' .
I think allowing 16-17 year old should not be done, I think it is too son to vote for a new leader and with all their stress getting ready for their GCSEs I think they do not need to vote now. To solve this I think we should allowed to vote once we turn 21. Many teenagers vote because of what they see online, this ,means that's it isn't their real opinion and vote for the person they don't want as their new leader. They can also be influenced at home or the people around them, such as: your friends opinion has an impact on you and you vote for the person they want because you heard them talking about it. In conclusion, 16 is way too young to vote for many reasons, thank you.
While I like your comment, it makes me wonder: aren't 16 and 17 year olds just as affected as 21 year olds by politicians? Also, a lot of over 18's vote because of what they see online too. If you don't let 17 year olds vote because they can be too easily swayed by online commentary, then what makes 18 year olds able to? 19 year olds? Excluding one group only makes it easier to exclude more.
I don't really know if allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve/not improve elections because I think it depends on the person you are taking about. Some people at this age are already working and acting as and independent person while some others are still studying and depending economically on their parents.
So, if a person is able to work and maintain itself, I think they could vote. But, as this doesn't apply to everyone at that age I'm not 100% sure. It also depends if they are interested or not in politics at that age. There is also not a big gap between 17 and 18-year-olds, although there are many 18-year-olds who aren't interested in politics or live with their parents.
So in conclusion I think is better to wait for them to gain more experience, and I even think 18 is to early to make such big decisions.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year olds to vote would not improve elections because some teens might not take it seriously when comes to elections. Some people might not trust teens to do this type of things. I would say 24-48 would be allowed to do it because they are more responsible doing the elections.💻
Can you explain why you say some 16-17 year olds "might not take voting seriously"?
i think allowing all sixteen and seventeen year -old children to vote would not improve elections because they will be irresponsible with their choice . one reason for my view is because they are only sixteen and seventeen and their brains have not fully developed ,your brains fully develop once you are twenty five . once you are twenty five , you will understand the importance of voting and you will understand to be sensible . so i believe that instead of eighteen , seventeen or sixteen ,you should actually be twenty five years . to be able t vote for your leaders is an opportunity and a chance or even a choice for the Goverment and or anyone else to see how sensible you at your age .
SIXTEEN TO SEVENTEEN YEARS IS WAY TO YOUNG TO BE VOTING FOR LEADERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
How have you come to the age of 25? At the age of 18 we are considered an adult are we delaying responsibility and also excluding a huge number of voters? Should there be a age whereby you are not allowed to vote for example when you get too old?
Hello ma'am that there shouldn't be an age whereby people would stop voting because it may seem like they have been excluded from their country's affairs and politics or maybe younger people might be indirectly insulting
I disagree because... there is no diffrence from 16 17 and 18 year olds
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote would not improve election because 16 and 17 year old are still in secondary school and they are not suitable to vote.One reason for my view is that your brain is not fully developed yet because 25 is when your brain is develop and they are not adults.
It would be chaos because sometimes teenagers don't really know what their capable of and some do and some do know what their doing.It's not really common for a teenager to be doing elections but it's common for a adult or a old person do be doing elections for a president who has the right to become one.
I think allowing 16 to 17 years old will have a impact on elections because we will have more suggestions and maybe more reasonable answers. Also, there will be people who strongly agree and people who disagree but it gives them a chance for them to state their opinion also they are pretty much ready for bigger responsibilities but I think sometimes it can be really hard for people under the age of 18 for their voices to be properly heard. Sometimes but I'm not necessarily saying that some people are not confident enough i feel like people will try to manipulate them because they are younger but as long as they are careful then I think it is a good idea to let them speak their mind.
Can you say more on why you say that "some people are not confident enough"?
Sure! What I think is sometimes you have lots of pressure to vote if I was 16-17 yrs old I would probably be scared because it might be your very first time voting and you might to be as willing to vote as other people who have more experience it like book votes also lets say trump I think it was a 2024 vote with Kamala Harris and Trumps people were threatening to vote for him and doing very concerning things so maybe some people would be concerned.
I think it can improve voting because theirs more people can vote and they would have their own point of view on voting and learn how to make their own choice.
but at the same time they could not know who or how to vote and might be influenced be different people or internet for who to vote but if someone could show them soo they could make good choices.
not that their is a bad choice maybe their is bad choices but it depends hoe they see the world.
willing starfish
In my opinion i think both the reason why is because their are some mature ones out their, at this age they will have sharper minds.On they other hand their are also so really silly ones too and if they write some silly things it can also impact them as well as others with maybe not nice things but overall i do not really think they should comment,also another reason why is because at that age they can be really silly and do something not nice for example they can log onto their friends account and say mean things then once that friend logs on they will see and this mean things thinking that is was not them then they could keep questoning their memory
Hi i have read some of your comments and i think that from 17 you should be able to start voting because when you are 16 you are still figuring out how to live on your own because when you turn 16 you can live on your own a start your own life it must be hard to just change your life like that and it is a lot of pressure on your self to pick and it makes people think that they picked the wrong person if they here or see someone say they voted for the best person then they might think they voted the wrong person and they will do bad for the world.
Why do you think that young people mature in the year between 16-17?
Hi its allowing_physics i think it is fare for some countries to have different laws and opinions for who they let vote. I think if you are 16 you should be able to vote if you are responsible, sure who you want to vote for and don't change due to other peoples opinion or internet . If you don't really want to vote i think it should be able to choose if you are younger than under 18 if you want to vote. :)
I believe that all 16 -17 year old must get the chance to vote as it is unfair to them . They shuld be allowed to elect the next prime mi nister in the next election as it shows they have their own opinion which could possibly change the new prime minister . they are very mature in my opinion to be able to elect the next the next priome minster as they have become almost adults thats why i think they should be able to vote . also i think that ai and other media platforms can influence the young adults and trick them as ai is a new developing thing and it can munipulate them into voting a prime minister they dont want to vote . media platforms such as whatsapp is also a dangerous thing as people like hackers or spammers can bypass through into your account . and tik tok or instagram will do these like trends to make you vote for something else so i kind of dissagree but also agree that 16-17 year olds should be able to vote.
thank you for reading my paragraph if you did .
Can you say more on why you say that AI can "manipulate them into voting a prime minister they don't want to vote"?
In my opinion i think that 16-17 year olds should be able to vote because ,firstly it will bring in 1.5 million more votes and that will offer more opinions and choices . Secondly most people this age start to mature [by getting a drivers licence , might start applying for jobs exd] so this would be a good experience and a start to their working life.Lastly i think that their opinions matter and they could have a point that changes everything . Thanks for reading!
I think that 16 and 17 year olds should vote because then it would be more fair to nearer people to adults and because they will be adults in a moment and they will have the same presidents when they will be adults younger then 16 mite not know what is voting is and how it works so some older people mite know what character that person has and what plans they have but some 16 17 think differently then adults if 16 17 vote then it will keep going down ages until it will get to 10 11 so in my opinion it should stay the same age limit
I love your point about whatever president is voted in when they are 16 will still be in power when they are 18, so they should be given a right to vote. I had not thought of that!
In my opinion, I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote could actually improve election because they have a lot of things that links to what adults do for example going to war, getting a full time job or driving a car. Other people should be appreciative for what they have done and should know that they are responsible enough rather than stereotyping that they are to young.Another good reason for them to have the rights to vote is that they might have good communicating skills and the world has to learn that we should interact with each other.They are much intelligent to get manipulated by other people and some actually might have experience in politics because I know some schools that helps kids like 16 and 17 year olds how to communicate better. They may be young but some have a developed brain.
16 and 17-year-old are mature enough to speak to the world and need socialise with older people to maybe get ideas. These may be challenges but they can overcome it .
i think that only over eighteens should be able to vote because some 16 year old might be immature and make bad decision plus there also still in high school im not saying there's not any sensible 16 year olds but there still quite young .
bye
What age do you think would be an appropriate age to start voting at?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections.For example your voice could be heard amongst other peoples voices.Also because there would be a better choice of the leader and if they do not get to vote,they could be unhappy or mad about the leader they didn't want in their city/country.I think it would also improve elections as younger people can learn more about elections and can make better choices for the leader they want in the future.I think that it could also be good because it could prepare 16 and 17-year-olds for the future and what is to become.Before last,16 and 17-year-olds can own a car and in my opinion are old enough to vote for the leader.Lastly,I think that people who are 16 to 17 years old are soon going to become adults and they can prepare for that by participating in elections.I would just like to add on that they are responsible enough to vote and they can make the right choices because of how old they are.
As well as that,I also think it could ruin elections as some may joke about this and some may take it seriously.Also,some people make reels on social media and do not take this event seriously.Secondly,young people such as 16 and 17 year olds can also make bad decisions as well as good decisions so we cannot trust them completely.
Overall,I think this is a great discussion and I will be looking forward to further discussions.What do you think,should 16 and 17 year olds be able to vote?Anyway,bye Topical Talkers!
it can work but it may not,because some 16-17 year old's are mature enough to vote but most 16-17 year old's are silly and don't know how serious voting is as some of the teenagers might cause a trend on many platforms to vote the most hated and worst person for fun so i think that 16-17 year old's should not vote,thank you for reading this Tropical Talkers!
In my opinion I agree because it would give them a chance to speak out.
but at the same time no because it wouldn't really be fair to the ones who didn't get to vote when they were their age and they might be too young to vote. Also they may not understand how it works. They should be focusing on studies since they are going to college I think they need to focus more on that than voting. Also these teenagers may vote for the wrong thing that may ruin the voting election.
thank you topical talkers for reading this
In our lesson this week, we were speaking about the Do So! Campaign in Trinidad and Tabago. We were discussing how the young people in those countries didn't agree with their governments actions, but weren't using their vote to change anything. They thought that not using their vote would be interpreted as a act of defiance, but in doing so nothing was changed. A classmate gave a high quality example, saying that if there was one person voting and everyone else did not, one person would get their way and could disagree with everyone else, meaning that all the protesting would go to waste. Instead of shouting out for their rights they took their own voices away. I also feel like they all live in the country and everyone should have a say. This was influenced by the world around them they may not understand how voting affects everybody's future and therefore allowing 16 year olds can allow them to develop an early sense of the way the world works.
With the help of dynamic_lute and original_goji.
Well done for using an example from the lesson. Do you feel like taking your voice away from the discussion is a good way to protest? why/why not?
yes because it would give them a chance to speak out on what they have to say. Also no because it effects on their education and might not know as much as older people who have experience but they could also be naive and not know what people are talking about so the governor would have to make a decision but what I think they should not allow 16-17 yr olds to vote. It might effect the global impact on 16-17 yr olds and need to find a job instead of voting and it will waist time of having a chance to speak like what happens if people doesn't agree with you and what you have to say so therefore I say 16-17 yr olds should not vote. Bye for now
I believe that older people are more capable to be tricked by AI rather than younger voters. I believe this because if you are young like 16 - 25 year old you will be able to understand what is AI and what isn't. I think that because some old people may have dementia which means that you are able to forget thing more easily than you used to.Younger adults may remember things better than most other people.AI can trick others as well because some thing are getting pretty realistic as to real life problems.
Interesting thoughts - can you share how AI is linked to voting?
I personally think that yes,16-17 year old's should also be able to vote,they live in the country as well as people who are 18+ and vote,for as long as they live in the country,they should have a say on whom decides on their rules,laws and regulations that they are obliged to follow,although sometimes teenagers can be thoughtless and clueless, wanting to fit with the cool crowd,but this is a stereotype not something that EVERY teenager does teenagers brains are growing still at that time but they're brains are quite fresh and sharp not too young and not too old to understand what is right and wrong,true and false information.
These days,artificial intelligence is extremely popular and the use of it is growing vastly and rapidly,but the younger generation usually can spot AI quite easily because they are on the internet more than people aged 18-25(university and college students are busy with studying,and based on my peers,AI generated information is spotted quite quickly and easily.)
Since the younger generation is chosen to vote,politicians may try to be relatable with younger generation eg. using AI on social media platforms trying to make funny content,memes or relatable videos.
On the other hand teenagers may try to be the same as their peers and instead of voting what they think,they vote for what their friends want,just to surf with crowd.
I am in the middle that 16-17 year olds can vote because although some of them have jobs and pay taxes, they need adult experience and a polictial sense of what to believe and what not to believe when policticans state their reasons for being prime minster or president. They are still children and still need time to mature before their policital view being considered. But age is not really a factor due to there being mature 17 year olds with jobs and adults in their 30's still living in their parent's house.
I think there should instead be a test for adults at the age of 18 that they can offer a sensible view.
I think that allowing 16-17 year olds to vote would improve the voting elections this is because the age 16-17 year old are young adult who can make desisions for them selves ,which mean they can decide on there priminister them on there own. This also shows that young people have a voice and a says too. this would be good for the comunity because they know that every body has say.Even if they don`t want to vote or are not ready they don`t have to.
some others don`t think that they will improve the elections this is because they might not know much about the elections or politics which might be confusing for them or make them feel overwhelmed .older people might judge there opinion and critisize them for it making them think they made the wrong choice.
in conclusion in my opinion i think that 16-17 year old`s would improve the elections so that young people also have a say . this will teach others not to be shy and to share your own opinions. this will make the youth community happier and confident about there opinions.
thanks for reading bye topical talkers!! :]
I believe that the the age should be put down to 16 as adults can't always find what's best for children ,and 16 year old people will be the closest people to say what politicians are giving the best thing for children and youth.Adults would not be able to know what most kids will want even if they have children themselves. But 16 year old teenagers will not have fully experienced life yet and will not know the proper needs as most of them have probably not been able to move out yet;so they will not know what the impact of inflation that causes higher prices like grocery shopping for a family.As adults have better and more experienced in life and they would probably know what their family needs more than 16 year old people. But i think that 16 year old people should still get to make their statement be heard as adults may be better and more for the smart and responsible to find the most reliable politician that gives the most useful needs to the country but the teenagers may like to vote on the people that give good things for children like more parks .This is why i believe that teenagers at the age of 16 should be able to vote as they will most likely think about different needs but as equally useful.
By imaginative_effort :)
Hi! I think allowing all 16 and 17-years-olds to vote would not improve elections because younger people do not have any experience on politics,and also the don't need to pay any taxes or work so this would not be important for young people.The 16 and 17-years-old do not have the maturity to know what they need to vote. Also I think younger people should not improve politics because they don't have the politic knowledge they need. So I think this is a bad idea.
Should 16-year-olds help choose leaders? In my opinion, I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because they do not have the right mindset to vote. My reason is that they could be scrolling on TikTok or any social media platform on the internet to see somebody spreading false information. Then the 16 to 17-year-old could believe that false information online, possibly spreading it more around on social media. Even though they probably understand what an election is. Also, they could not be mature enough in order to vote for whoever they need to choose to be the next leader. If they vote for the wrong choice and think it’s right to laugh it off to think it's funny.
For example let's say a 16-year-old is scrolling through apps like Twitter, Facebook, or Tiktok. Then sees an AI video promoting their product and it's a 16 or 17-year-old but when actually bought it’s actually a bad product once bought. Another example is that it could be another teenager spreading more information that could be false on the internet. Then others believe in it just for it to be not true in the future.
In my opinion i think allowing all 16-17- year- old's to vote would improve elections as it can give them more experience when it comes to talking to big crowds and making notes to prepare for big things.When you keep making them practice and vote it can boost their confidence and performance.
Although when you allow 16 and 17-year-old people to vote it could produce a good long term impact like helping them improve their teamwork and skill building. Sadly a few countries people under the age of 18 are not allowed to vote, this is very unfortunate as a lot of 16-18- year- old's are paying rent for themselves and their family.
Fortunately in places such as Brasil and Argentina allowed people to vote at the age of 16 Brasil lowered theirs in 1998 as part of its constitution and Argentina lowered theirs in 2012.
However letting 16-17-year-olds to vote can also bring a detrimental impact because some young adults aren't ready for the real world and if they start working it can make them overwork themselves.
In conclusion i think the voting age should be lowered down to 16 as it provides some people a massive boost in most cases. However if everything starts to go down hill when people start allowing 16 year olds to vote you can set it back
If 16 and 17 year olds could vote it would be better because they wouldn’t have a chance to
vote otherwise they could feel left out sometimes.
Can you give some more reasons as to why you think it would be valuable for 16 and 17 year olds to vote?
I think that we should be allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote because it could make there future better and know what to do when there older and that are old enough and they basically adults so yas I think they should
Can you explain why you say it will "make their future better"?
I agree because we will have more votes and expanding horizons but I think you have to be mature and think about why you want to vote still i think it will help countries make better decisions
Can you say more on what you mean by "expanding horizons"?
I think that 16-17 year olds should not improve elections because they probably won’t know about elections and they might to inappropriate answers. Also some may agree because it enchants their knowledge and it gives them a chance on their say plus it gives them a idea what they want when they are older for a job.
Allowing 16-17 year old's to vote would improve voting, the reason why is that more people will be able to vote and the government will decide the choices easier than before because there are more people to vote. From what i see 16-17 year old's have lots of potential in themselves sometimes they don't even know it but usually don't use it for the right things such as watching around 3 hours a day on their phone/iPad/laptop/pc/desktop and television. These teenagers could improve elections for generations to come forever and make the government's job easier than it was supposed to be. These 16-17 year old's don't realize how much of a difference they make for the government and everyone in voting, this is a huge upgrade for the politicians and all of the citizens. So this does make a big difference to us!
Bye topical talk!
I think 16 and 17 year olds should have a turn to vote because they are going into adult years and they are starting to learn how to drive. some people will say that they are not adults but their are no diffrence between 16 17 and 18 year olds they are all the same exact people and a 2 year diffrence thank you listening
Can you explain why you say there is "no difference" between 16 and 18?
I think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because many decisions affect their future. One reason for my view is that young people care about issues like education and climate change and are often well informed through their schools and the social media. Giving them a vote would make elections fairer and more representative, so why shouldn't they have a say?
16 and 17 year olds are immature, carefree and do not think about consequences. They will make the country weaker and they don't have the right mindset. They are easily manipulated also they won't think their decision properly. They are not adults and are inexperienced. Some may argue 16 year olds have jobs and pay taxes so they are responsible but they aren't old enough to make very important decisions. Thank you for reading this.
Do you have any evidence for the statement "16 and 17 year olds are immature, carefree and do not think about consequences"? Do you think this applies to all 16 and 17 year olds? Does considering people like Greta Thunburg and Malala Yousafzai change your mind?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because not all of them has the knowledge of leadership. One reason for my view is some of them can be convinced by what people around them are saying and not what they are seeing for example one of their closest relatives or family members can spread rumors about their hated leaders and they can easily believe them. SO WHY DON'T WE LEAVE THE VOTING AGE AT 18 YEARS OLD.
I think that 16 and 17-year-olds can be easily manipulated by social media and other people around them.
They might also think that something is really cool but it is actually really dangerous and they might want to do it. This means that they are not thinking through all of the horrid consequences that will happen.
Doing this, they might get seriously injured and might need to go to the hospital.
Saying all of this, I do not believe that 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve election because the young ones are the leaders of tomorrow and they should be allowed to vote because the action of the leaders they voted for will have effects on them in the future, so therefore, the youths should be allowed to vote so they could vote for who they feel like is best for them.
i think that 16 year olds should not be able to vote because they should be focusing on studying rather than stressing over the voting and what to do and that is my reason for 16 year olds to not vote thank you for listening
You say "stressing", do you think people find voting stressful?
I think some people can find voting stressful because it is a big choice to make the right decision.Some people do like voting very much because sometimes voting is too much for people so they might need a bit of help to make the right decision.So yes I think vote can be stressful for not just some people but everyone.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would not improve the elections. I think this is because, 16 and 17 year olds still haven't matured fully yet. For example your brain isn't fully developed until you're 25. When you're 16 or 17, your frontal lobe isn't fully developed. This means your decision - making skills aren't the best. Another example is, even the 18 year olds that did vote in the 2024 elections for president voted for Donald J. Trump because Kamala Harris said she'd make school longer. Now Donald Trump is frequently messing with other countries' ships, armies, etc. Just last year, June 2025 , we almost had a war with Iran. All in all, this just shows how we need to do research on the people we vote for. In this generation, 16 and 17 year olds are most likely not willing to do that . That's why I think 16 and 17 year olds should not vote.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would not improve the elections. I think this is because, 16 and 17 year olds still haven't matured fully yet. For example your brain isn't fully developed until you're 25. When you're 16 or 17, your frontal lobe isn't fully developed. This means your decision - making skills aren't the best. Another example is, even the 18 year olds that did vote in the 2024 elections for president voted for Donald J. Trump because Kamala Harris said she'd make school longer. Now Donald Trump is frequently messing with other countries' ships, armies, etc. Just last year, June 2025 , we almost had a war with Iran. All in all, this just shows how we need to do research on the people we vote for. In this generation, 16 and 17 year olds are most likely not willing to do that . That's why I think 16 and 17 year olds should not vote.
You mentioned the brain does not fully develop until around age 25. Do you think that the voting age should be higher for this reason?
I disagree because they will not understand and they are not mature enough and they wont listen and they will mess around and they don't get it and will kick them out and they will be silly and no one will be able to vote .
I do think that 16 year-olds and 17 year-olds should be able to pick who runs their countries.Because they have to live there and deal with whatever happens there or whatever happens to them. And to add on to that 16 and 17 year olds can now have long hours in work,pay taxes,drive .So if this teens can do all of this they should be able to vote.Even though some people think that their mind is not fully developed to do things like that.In my opinion I think that everyone's votes matter all though some people don't believe that. So in that case they should see how things work or in other words occurring.
I think 16 yr olds should not vote because they dont have any experience and not enough education and are always glued to their PHONES!
I disbelieve that the voting age should be lowered down to 16- year olds. If you keep on lowering down the age , it can cause a huge problem. They are very immature. 16- year olds have inappropriate behaviour. They should be learning not standing for rights. You can do it when your mature enough. When your 18 or 19.
What information do young people learn between the ages 16 and 18 that ensures they are ready to vote?
I believe that 16 and 17 year old shouldn't vote in elections because of their age and their brain development. One of my reason to this statement is "your brain isn't fully develop unless your 25 and up".The cortex that handled design making, planning, and impulse control is the last are to fully mature. When the prefrontal cortex finally develop, you would be 25 or older. At the age of 16 and 17 , you dont really know what your doing yet but you could go look things up and research about it. At the age of 16 and 17 your not even a young adult. As a matter of fact, your not a young adult untill your 18. I feel like 16 and 17 year olds should worry about school more than think about voting.
I think 16 year olds should not be able to vote because there minds have not adapted to 18 year old minds yet and also they are mostly on electronics and barely know any thing about voting and party`s around the world. Secondly 18 year olds are more experienced and 16 year olds have a lot less experience on voting, however some people say they agree because they say 16 year olds are just a little younger than 18 year old but age is not the same . Third of all six- teen year olds brain is a lot lot younger than eight-teen year olds brain also 18 year olds are adults and have more right to vote for party`s . they are still teenagers and barely have any idea of what elections are. Thank you for reading my comment and you can reply to this wonderful comment if you`d like to. Have a nice time on topical talk and bye:).
What information do young people learn between the ages 16 and 18 that ensures they are ready to vote?
I think 16 year olds should not be able to vote because there minds have not adapted to 18 year old minds yet and also they are mostly on electronics and barely know any thing about voting and party`s around the world. Secondly 18 year olds are more experienced and 16 year olds have a lot less experience on voting, however some people say they agree because they say 16 year olds are just a little younger than 18 year old but age is not the same . Third of all six- teen year olds brain is a lot lot younger than eight-teen year olds brain also 18 year olds are adults and have more right to vote for party`s . they are still teenagers and barely have any idea of what elections are. Thank you for reading my comment and you can reply to this wonderful comment if you`d like to. Have a nice time on topical talk and bye:).
So, I think that 16 and 17-year-olds should not be allowed to vote because I believe that they don't have enough experience about taxes and work. They may also think that something is really cool but it is really dangerous. They are influenced by social media and other people. They don't have the right mind set because they are too young. They could make it a very chaotic world and they can make very immature decisions. I believe that 16 and 17-year-olds should not be able to vote because they need to grow up a bit more and start being more mature. But, not all 16 and 17-year-olds are immature. So, please do not let them vote.
I think that allowing all 16 and 17- year olds to vote would not improve elections because people that age usually depend on social media so what I mean is they depend on what other people say, instead of doing research on a helpful site they go on apps like TikTok or Instagram.
What might be the disadvantages of getting your information on social media?
I feel as though elections would become a very different thing if 16 & 17 year olds were allowed to vote. Firstly, that age group get their political news from different sources. Most young adults/teens get their news from apps like TikTok and Youtube, while older groups seem to watch on-demand news a lot more. This can influence people's perspectives, as newsreaders are less likely to be biased while independent influencers will speak their mind and often not have much evidence to corroborate their opinions.
However, young people are typically more open to speaking their mind and sharing their own opinions- if everyone shares their opinions online, then it just becomes a battle of who's videos are the most convincing. Sound familiar? It's because that's what politicians have been doing for years. Using this side of evidence, you could argue that all adding 16 and 17 year olds would do to the voting pool is increase it.
I think that allowing 16 and 17-olds would not improve elections because we don't know whether they have enough knowledge on voting or not
I disagree because it is to dangoures and is not save for 16 year olds having a job at the age of a teenagers and is still new to this earth
yes sixteen yrs old should help choose leader cause in my own perspective i think they have the idea of voting and also has knowledge about what is happening in the country. so i think the government should give permission to the legislative arm of government
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because in my opinion, most 16 and 17 year olds are not worried about politics or elections. One reason for my view is teens these days want to spend their teenage years partying and having fun before they have to pay rent and go to collage
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote would improve elections because it gives the youth voice in decision that affects their future. The youths are the leaders of tomorrow, and the decision of the government determines the situation of the future . By voting, they can encourage leaders who they fill can enable their future's situation. So therefore the 16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve nor make it worst because most people can be highly influenced by their parents while some have their own opinion on who to vote for and some people at this age don`t really know any thing about elections. Some people don`t know the real news going round the world because they don`t check if any information is real (misinformation). But I also think that 16 and 17-year-olds would improve election because they will be more votes and chances for parties to win.
I think allowing the 16 and 17-year-olds would not improve elections because the youth might be educated on leadership elections, but they don't take it seriously most times because they are often not actually good at decision making some times which means, they might rely on a friend's advice or on social media for who to vote for.
Why do you think that young people might not be good at decision making sometimes? How does this compare to adults?
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve elections because I would dare to say that most teenagers at this age do not have what they need to vote, no age, no knowledge, no information. There are even people who, having reached the minimum age to vote, do not have the ability to vote meaningfully. With what, I don't think the voting age should be reduced, from my point of view I would even increase it at 20 years old.
I know that I have already written a comment about this but I do think that it is very important that 16 year olds know what they are doing because they will also living with the impact on who and what other people have voted for. Not alot of people see the impact of what they vote for as something important but new sixteen year olds might think that it is.
I believe that sixteen and seventeen year olds should have the ability to vote in elections. Even though some may not understand the format of elections, allowing them to take part from a young age will likely result in development in understanding. Additionally if certain votes of young people were made with an element of immaturity their vote will make up only a small percentage of the total.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-old to vote would not improve elections because your brain usually doesn't fully develop until you're around 25 years old. Also, you only feel your full potential at planning self control and judgment which is needed to decide who to vote for. Secondly, although your brain size is mostly complete by age 5, but maturity takes much longer. For example, you are voting for class president for 3rd grade , now you are voting for your friend that will do good things. Unlike his opponent, he says if they vote for him they will get snacks and you joyfully pick the opponent while you aren’t fully mature . Now, since he is the 3rd grade president he does bad stuff and doesn’t give you the snacks he promised. Now you are furious and are throwing a tantrum which shows immaturity and lack of self control. Lastly , with the prefrontal cortex being one of the last areas to fully mature. This region, located in the frontal lobe, is responsible for functions such as long-term planning, impulse control, and complex decision-making. In conclusion, this is why 16-17 year-old should not vote.
Although some agree with this statement, I think that allowing young people aged 16-17 years to vote would not improve elections for various reasons. Firstly, I think that they are still too young and haven't reached the certain level of maturity and understanding to be able to create an opinion on who they want as a leader for their country. In addition to this, I think that the majority of 16-17 year olds nowadays, are heavily influenced by social media, therefore, they might be getting the wrong impression of certain things by following what they see online. Furthermore, students around this age are dealing with academic exams (for example, gcses in the UK) and therefore are too preoccupied with preparing and studying to think about which political party to vote for and why. In conclusion, I believe that the minimum voting age should remain at 18 because even though they are still able to voice opinions of the younger generation they also have the maturity to make these important decisions.
Hello, everyone!
I believe that lowering the voting age to 16 isn't the best decision to make.
I think this because for some people, they pick parties because of biased views. So, if 16 year olds were dragged into this, their parents will force them to elect the party they believe that will do the best in the scenario. Foe example, some parents think the Conservative party are the best, so they force their children to pick them. But, their friends may elect the Labour party, and because of this, the friends may fall out. So, what I'm trying to say is that the people are putting too much pressure on the poor person.
Also, because they suddenly are allowed to vote, they might start investigating to learn about politics. This may be good, but they might divert from their studies and learn some random nonsense that some people call 'politics'. This deviates them from learning towards their GCSE exams, then they will fail just because they were trying to learn about politics. Then they will hate politics in future, so then they won't vote when Britain really needs them to.
To conclude, I think it is bad to put too much pressure on a person.
I think you should be allowed to vote at the age of 16 because then older people you can hear different opinions from a younger age.Older people can hear some opinions from 16 (and up) year old that might change their mind or help them make a decision for their vote.
I strongly belive that people under the age of 18 are defently not mature enough to make this kind of crucial decitions, such as chosing who you want to rule your country. Moreover, 16-17 years old youngsters are easily influenced by social media news and actually, most of them are not true due to the fact that nowadays fake news on the network have increased a lot because of AI, and although they are not true they spred at the sped of light.
No I dont think 16 and 17 year old shouldn't be able to vote due to them not officially adults to the law yet ! It is a huge responsibility because there could potentially be a lot off weight on there shoulders, wich could make them feel depressed or just genuinely dont understand 100% yet.
Every election is every 4-5 years,
unless the selected person (priminister) quits the job then they have a hugely significant difference and sets the rules for the country!
They are very important people and I think giving the option to young adults like 16 and 17 year old is a lot off responsibility.
From Rhetorical_whale
I disagree i dont think 16 and 17 year old should be able to vote, as it makes a lot off weight on there shoulders as the priminster is a very important person and sets the rules for the country.
Along with that they are not legally an adult, wich could result them on them being not sensible or immature.
This would result to be very serious affect as it is a very important role not just for the money but for the whole off the country !
I believe that allowing 16 and 17-year-olds would make positive impact in the world, but allowing them to vote will not improve elections accurately, this generation and the next would be affected by there choice if the 16-17 year olds get influenced by what they see on social media this would mean that they would have set political opinions based on what their favourite influencer are saying / doing.
Another downside is that most young people don't want to vote or don't know what to vote for so they go by what their friends or family voted. Although its a good thing to lower the voting age I don't think that enough people know what their vote can do to the country, what change it can do.
If 16/17 year olds are allowed to vote they will not vote for the candidate that will work for the interest of the poor masses, and they don't know anything about leadership. They are mostly concerned about social media not minding whether the information there is true or not true. What I am trying to say is that they can be convinced by anyone. In school they don't teach them anything about leadership, politics, and voting. So that is why we say 16/17 year olds should not allowed to vote.
I personally believe that 16 year olds should be able to vote.
This means that the government would be able to see everyone's point of view of the parties, knowing that many opinions differ from one another.
"But 16 year olds will copy from the media!"
Sure, many rumors are spread online, but when it comes to political parties many are serious about this form of topic and spread their opinions online to receive feedback and challenging.
Take what's happenung in the USA for example, many people are aware of the situations and spread information about the lastest updates on social media (tiktok, Facebook, Instagram etc.) ;which shows they have an understanding from a young age.
Many 16-17 year olds have a job, working for money which shows they understand tax, payment and budgeting just by maturing. If they can pay for themselves, have a job, and understand economics why shouldn't they be able to vote?
Whats your opinion?
I don't agree nor disagree as 16 and 17 year olds can help improve elections as people know parts of an elections but they don't have a lot of information or knowledge on how they work so it could possibly boost the academic knowledge on elections and it would help 16-17 year olds understand the importance of different studies like political science, civics, and social studies, which are essential for developing informed and responsible citizens. However, there are some problems with under 18's voting in upcoming or active elections those problems could be shown as: they might not understand the topic and vote for something that might not help them or the people living around them, under 18's could read stuff of the internet and pass it on and vote for what they read and that could lead to the misuse of information and could have a downfall on their vote.
There are multiple reasons why this could work but there are also reasons that lead to the failure of the choice of letting 16's and 17's take part in elections. If they have a job and earn money they might understand economics better which could lead to more understanding of the importance to allegations regarding a specific topic.
If the overall votes lead to 16's and up voting in elections I feel like it would be better if they took certain elections for 16 and 17 year olds and leave the more tricky and complicated elections to the adults as they would have a better understanding. In other words maybe have different parties for different elections.
I think that 16 and 17 year olds should be given the privilege to be able to vote for there leader. This is important because, the leader of their country, will have an impact on their future going into adulthood. 16 and 17 year olds, are already allowed to work and pay taxes and these are important responsibilities, so they should have the opportunity to vote as well as do these things.
Some people may disagree with this because 16 and 17 year olds may have not matured enough to be able to have the responsibility to vote. They may not have enough knowledge on politics.
Additionally, the majority of 16 and 17 year olds still live with their parents, so they may be influenced by their political views on which leader is the best. This would mean that they would not get a say in their vote and who they think is right for them.
At 16 you are maturing are definitely able to make some life choices, these choices can sometimes be supported by your parents but often are not . Everybody is learning day by day and part of learning is making choices in who leads your country. If adults are allowed to vote then why cant 16 year olds? I do think that it may be beneficial as it would impact voting a lot as it would allow a greater variety of people to vote for our country’s prime minister .
I think that 16 year olds shouldn’t be able to vote because they can’t chant wether they want a new rule and add things that could be a mistake
I think this because if they vote it would be like a closed vote and if you do a closed vote with your freinds they could watch you and they would protest for that to happen
If 16 your olds could vote then they would chant for ridiculous rule and in bulletin points this is some of the things they would chant for if they could vote
.cancel school
.do what ever they want
. Fast food for free for kids for example McDonald’s, kfc and Burger King
For this comment I chose to do bullet point so I could explain my reasoning and some ridiculous rules so my bullet points are some rules I think in my opinion they would chose to chant if 16 year olds could vote
By sympathetic- chocolate
Thanks for reading my comment topical talkers bye
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it would make democracy more representative of the whole population. Many decisions made in elections—such as education funding, climate policies, and job opportunities—directly affect young people, yet they often have no say in them. Giving this age group the vote would encourage politicians to take youth issues more seriously instead of focusing mainly on older voters. Another reason for my view is that voting at a younger age could build strong democratic habits early on. If people start voting while they are still in school, they are more likely to learn about politics, discuss issues, and continue voting as adults. This could increase long-term voter turnout and reduce political apathy. Some people argue that 16- and 17-year-olds lack the maturity or knowledge to vote responsibly, but many adults also vote without being fully informed. Age does not automatically determine political understanding. Overall, allowing younger voters would bring fresh perspectives into elections and help create decisions that better reflect both present needs and the future of society.
If all 16 and 17-year-olds could vote, elections could become more representative and future-focused. Politicians would pay more attention to issues affecting young people, such as education and climate change. Voting earlier could also build lifelong civic engagement, as many teenagers are learning about politics in school. Overall, including younger voters would make democracy more inclusive and better reflect society’s future needs.
Hello! I think that voting at 16 or 17 could help the younger generations to learn a bit about which people should they vote for, how voting works and why they should avoid certain candidates. While some people , like me , can go with their parents in the voting places and see how the procces goes and ask them how to tell if someone isn't good enough to run for president or if they are bluffing, most people might not have this "luxury". Learning about voting in schools could also help a lot, as long as it's kept neutral. If we have the access to the information and if we can comprehend the idea and concept of how voting works and how that can affect the country based on who's in charge, we should be able to vote. On the other hand, some 16 year olds might be really irresponsible and vote for whoever they prefer (whether because they are more popular or other reasons of sorts) , so that can ruin the country. It would help to get younger people to vote, as many people are scared of their choices.
No, allowing 16 and 17 year olds might stop them focusing on school and getting a job. A job will help them with voting . With a job they can understand tax and chose what to do with there money instead of picking randomly .
Allowing 16-year -old students surely will affect the ruselts of the vote but will these students will choose wisely do the answer is it depends some children have a great knowledge in many things which can choose in vote but other students choose for fun without knowing anything in the vote which can affect in losing votes without any reason.
From my view ,I think allowing 16 to 17 years to vote would improve elections because in this age ,people typically still in school where the civic education supports informed participations ,and starting to vote at early age would more likely keep them voting thoroughout the life,some policies highly affect young people like digital rights, education, climate and people are underrepresented in voting rolls .so lowering the age can reduce this imbalance.Research shows that 16 to 17 years old can make choices similar to adults.youngters are more involved to vote as they don't have more responsibility than adults ,so they have time to think on choosing a right leader for our country.But in some cases 16 to 17 years old lack maturity and inconsistent with the fact that they can work,pay taxes and drive as adults.Moreover comparing the merits and demerits,merit are more than demerits to encourage youngsters to vote in elections.
It really depends. To be honest, I lean towards 16 year olds not having the right to vote because, not only they are still not classified as adults yet, but most of them would likely follow someone's influence, without them making their own decision. With that said in mind, it would give them an insight to Politics as a whole, even if it's just voting. In my opinion, countries can make it optional for 16-17 year old but compulsory for 18
I believe that making 16 and 17-year-old people will make the elections improve. Adding more creative ideas and perspectives of young people can solve horrible disasters like climate change. I think also that there must be no limit in the election. Everyone is full of innovation, from young to old people consequently forbidding someone from voting in the elections can lead to depression for example in the Vatican City, people above 80 are neglected in the elections. This can make them think that they became old and their minds are falling down also this can cause agism and age stereo types in the country. If young people participated in the elections their performances in their schools can be rocketed up since they are learning about politics and global perspectives and their civic can improve however there might be some risks. Some of them can depend on their friend's or parent's perspectives moreover this can make them independent.
Let's talk about another age group, children. I believe that children cannot vote in the elections because their brains are not fully grown. If you told a little child to do something, he would do it immediately. In my point of view, the best voting age in the elections in from 12-17 because this is the time when the brain becomes fully grown.
They must also participate because most of them pay the tax and rent so it is their rights to share their point of views and perspectives.
To conclude, if someone is conscience, he must participate in the election, and it does not matter about the age.
Age is just a number that has no value.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because young people have much better access to information, which they can use to form their political opinions, than any generation before. Another reason for my opinion is that many societies are aging rapidly, and therefore younger people are becoming a minority (around 59% of people eligible to vote in my country’s federal election last year were over the age of 50). This causes politicians to focus more on the needs of older people and on achieving short-term goals. Lowering the voting age would therefore improve the representation of younger people and give politicians an incentive to aim reaching long-term goals.
In my opinion, I think that 16 and 17-year-old should vote because that could lead them to express what they think would be the best leader and what in other opinions that would definitely change what they have and that could lead to whether a strong debate
If 16 and 17-year-olds could vote in the United Kingdom they were choose for a perfect leader and they would protest against whether the rules of this would be unfair or absurd and this is in my opinion because this is what I think because most players have teams but also in that it’s also like where they get to debate whether they want us to vote then if they debate whether the Prime Minister of their against each other then that would just need it to cause an argument and then they could disagree with each other and then best friends have they disagree with each other than they won’t have a good Friendship but in one of my opinions that that’s probably one of the best things because then they can take all children can express what day of thinking of who would be the best Prime Minister
Bi, sympathetic chocolate thanks for reading my comment topical talkers you have a good day if I get a star on this amazing for accepting my comment thank you
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year old to vote would cause various impact. In some countries, it could improve the elections but in some countries it won't improve elections. The reason of my view for this is because of the condition in the countries is different. In some developed countries where education is in a high quality, I think letting 16 and 17 year olds vote could improve the elections since they already have a good education so they could think clearly. But, in some countries where it's hard to get a good education and most of the people were poorly educated, letting 16 and 17 year olds vote won't improve the elections since they don't have the ability to think clearly. If the 16 and 17 year olds aren't well educated, they could be easily manipulated and the elections will be rigged.Altough maybe the number of voices won't be very much, but it's still important to keep the elections fair.
I believe that 16 year olds should not be able to vote because lots of them just follow social media
Can you clarify what you mean by 'just follow social media'? Do you think it often spreads misinformation?
Hey, I personally think that allowing 16-17-year olds to vote would improve elections. Many decisions affect their future as teenagers. I think it would be unfair to decide on their future without letting them have a say. I believe that saying every teenager is immature and doesn`t know about elections is a weak argument because many of them already earn and save their money or try to learn something about politics and elections. 16-17-year olds are old enough to deal with politics. If they were allowed to vote maybe more of them would be interested in politics and elections.
On the other hand, teenagers are more likely to get manipulated of experienced politicians and social media, which can influence their decisions. Politicians often transact wrong promises, which teenagers (not every teenager) might not be able to classify.
In summary, 16-17-year olds should be allowed to vote. They should be able to decide on their future and share their young perspectives to certain topics, which can also be helpful for politicians understanding teenagers and young people. It`s our future and we have to live with the consequences of the decisions the politicians make, so we should have a say in that.
I think 16 yr olds should be allowed to vote because if they are old enough to legally give birth and be sent to war they should be old enough to vote for the person who is making these choices. I think elections would improve if 16 yr olds are allowed to vote because they will have a more young perspective and ideas to share in younger opinions and younger point of views.
I think 21 is to old because over 65% of the world are 21 and older and 75% of the world are over 16 so that’s 10% of the world are not able to vote if this voting policy goes ahead
If you have any questions please let me know in the comments
Age 16/17 year olds should not be allowed to vote because they don't have life experience, they are still under parental guidance, and control. And they are still developing desition making skills, they can be easily be influenced or manipulated by politicians to vote for the wrong person. Also they are not financially independent so they can be given money to sell their vote.
I think it is not appropriate to give priority to vote of 16/17 years olds.Because, children of this age are busy with their studies,their own development.Due to which, they give less importance to political field.Also,this is the age when their knowledge about politics just begins.They just start to understand democracy.On the other hand,due to the immaturity of age, they hesitate to take right decisions.But when he is 18,he matures based on his previous studies.At this age,a citizen is considered legally & mentally matured and at this age a person acquires a relatively good understanding of society state,democracy & able to take responsible decisions.Voting at a mature age through wise thinking,can accelerate the development of the country by electing an honest,competent public representative. That's why I disagree.
I think that lowering the voting age to 16/17 would be very beneficial as they should be able to decide what they think is best for the country they’re in. Also, 16 year olds should be trustworthy and sensible enough to vote in elections. Another point to mention is that they’d probably be able to decide who they like as they are easily influenced which could be bad or good but I think it’s good because they will be able to hear both sides.
I agree, hearing both sides of the argument can be a good thing to make up your own mind. Do you think it's easy or difficult for people to find out different points of views in elections?
Hi, i am understanding_effort,
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year old to vote would improve and not improve elections at the same time because, on the positive side it could improve elections because young people would get a voice in decision that affects their future, such as education, climate change and different types of technology. Many young people were aware of these issues through technology or social media.
As a example, they can choose a right politic group for voting. It can make them feel included and became active citizen from young age
But at the same time, it might not approve elections because some young peoples can easily get influenced by social media,friends, or family opinions. So, it might lead to a uninformed vote.
As a example, sometimes they can be forced to vote a leader by others too. Since elections are serious and important, this lack of maturity could affect the quality of decisions
So i think, allowing 16 and 17 years old's to vote has both advantage and disadvantage. It can improve elections by increasing youth participations and at the same time creat different challenges.
The debate over whether 16 year olds should be allowed to vote centres on the responsibility young people hold when making important choices life choices. On one hand supporters argue that at 16 individuals are trusted to make significant decisions about their education career and finances; choices that can shape the rest of their lives. Many can work pay taxes and even live independently so excluding them from voting suggest their judgment is valued in some areas but dismissed in others.
On the other hand critics argue that voting is a lifelong decision that requires emotional maturity and broader life experience, which some 16 year olds may not have yet developed they worry that teenagers could be more influenced by parents, peers or social media when making political choices; however this concern ignored the fact that influence affects voters of all ages and that life experience does not automatically guarantee informed decision making.
With proper guidance and political education, 26 year olds are capable of making proper and thoughtful choices and allowing them to vote would recognise them growing independence while strengthening democracy as long as they don’t make stupid choices
I think 16-year-olds should help choose leaders, but only if they are well informed.
Many political decisions affect young people, especially laws about education, jobs and the environment. Since these decisions shape their future, it seems fair that they should have a voice.
However, voting requires understanding complex issues, and not all teenagers may be ready for that responsibility.
In my opinion, 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote if school provide better political education, so they can make informed and responsible choices.
i think allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would not improve elections because the younger human mind might not still be evolved enough.Also,teenagers could be clumsy enough to accept a bribe for voting a leader.This would make elections more unfair and harder for other leaders to get elected.
You say teenagers could be clumsy enough to accept bribes. What about adults or older people? Do you think the risk is the same for them?
I feel strongly that the voting age should be lowered. Some may say that 16 and 17-year-olds don’t know enough about elections and will side with their parents’ beliefs, but teenagers are known to rebel against their parents. Whether they agree or disagree with their parents voting decisions, they most likely would’ve established that already.
There is not a massive mental gap between the ages of 16 and 18 - which is the voting age in majority of the world. The government decides on an age that is appropriate for voting for the future of our country. Your believes do not change overnight just because you are legally an adult.
Getting the opinion from a younger generation will widen our perspective of what they want to see in the future of our country. I feel strongly that the voting age should be lowered. Some may say that 16 and 17-year-olds don’t know enough about elections and will side with their parents’ beliefs, but teenagers are known to rebel against their parents. Whether they agree or disagree with their parents voting decisions, they most likely would’ve established that already.
There is not a massive mental gap between the ages of 16 and 18 - which is the voting age in majority of the world. The government decides on an age that is appropriate for voting for the future of our country. Your believes do not change overnight just because you are legally an adult.
Hello! I think allowing 16 and 17-year-old kids vote could impact the election results, but not always in a good way. In my opinion, at that age, they are the most gullible people and they make worse decisions because of the experienced adults who create believable election campaigns. Although, these older teenagers are great at making quick decisions that only affect their life, voting a bad leader influences the rest of the people living in that state, including them and their bright future.
Why do you think young people are "the most gullible people"?
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds would improve voting since adding different voters to the voting pool would differentiate the election results and make it so that no one candidate who has completely loyal followers will always win. Also, young people are most affected by changes in the environment which older voters may not be fully aware about.
I think elections will improve if 16-17 year-olds could vote because at this age the person is capable of coming up with creative ideas and solutions so that means there will be more perspectives on these elections. This also improves of the skills of young people and how they can view different perspectives, which is a important skill in life.
I don't think having 16 and 17-year olds vote in elections would improve it, because they aren't ready for the responsibility of choosing a leader. I think they would lean to a leader that would give them whatever they want rather than a leader that is able to properly take care and be responsible for an entire country. They should be focusing on their academics and the parents of the students can vote for a leader that can improve the educational system to promise them a better future and to ensure they are well educated when it is their turn to vote.
Being a teen in such an age range, I am inclined to believe young people should vote, and furthermore help choose leaders. Unlike many adults who are far too biased and narrow-minded, young people, as it is widely believed, bring a breath of fresh air to things, including politics. Our hopeful and ambitious nature can bring in new opinions and ideas, and in this way improve the way of things and the future of the world.
Do you have any evidence to back up your opinions about adults being "too biased and narrow-minded"?
I think 16 and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote in elections as they're part of the community and should be able to express their opinion. Some people who are really interested in politics mostly know a lot about different parties and maybe already know which party is the most suitable for them. Also when young people were allowed to vote the election results wouldn't be that close.
Why do you think the results wouldn't be that close if young people voted?
In my opinion, 16 year olds and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote because they are not a large percent of the population so they shouldn't greatly affect the election results if they vote. Even if 16 and 17 year old would be given the right to vote, I don't think that many of them would actually go to vote, because they have other things to focus on things like happiness, fun and homework. What do you think?
I think the voting age should be lowered because some 16 year olds are way more independent then adults and it’s a good opportunity for younger people.
What opportunities does it provide younger people, spelndid_groundhog?
I think the voting age should be lowered because it can give the teenagers experiance of a grownup and it may make them feel good
Why would "grown up" experiences be good for teenagers, exuberant_turkey?
I think the voting age should be lowered because it can give the teenagers experiance of a grownup and it may make them feel good.
My name is admirable_tsunami and I think the voting age should be lowered because I think younger people should also be able to share their opinions and decisions on who they want to be elected as the government so there could be a change in who is elected
I don't agree that sixteen year old's or seventeen year old's should vote because some people are responsible where as others aren't. I believe the voting age should be 21 because most people are responsible then the voting won't be off of other people like family friends and more. They will make their decisions based off their life style and what their doing, if they have children, if their married and if they have a council house.
I agree. Many 16 or 17-year-olds earn money independently and might start learning about voting ages and why they’re so high. It seems illogical that they can earn money without parental support but can’t vote.
I disagree because 16 and 17 year olds are still in school so they have no need to vote , but you are allowed to get married at the age of 16 or to give birth some countries have different rules I think this is important because you would of had some more knowledge so you won’t do a silly decision. Some 16 and 17 year olds are mature but most aren’t it is important that you make the right decision.
Hi topical talkers. I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it would give perspective on younger people. Also way more people would join the election then there will be more votes, therefore more perspectives. One reason for my view is, if the USA held a voting event that included 16 and 17 year olds, there would be more people's views so more of the United States would have an actual opinion.
Hey,
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve the democratic bases elections because younger people have different opinions than elder people. For instance if only adults are allowed to vote the younger people can not fight for their own interests and opinions. Additionally teenagers can already work and earn money with 16 and show that they are responsible. I think it would be weired that 16 or 17-Year-olds can already earn money but are not allowed to vote.
I think allowing all 16 and 17- year- olds to vote would improve elections because young people mostly have a different opinion than the elderly ones. Since this subject is already thought in the schools, students already know and understand how the voting process works. As the information is fresh in their mind, they probably know more rules of voting than the adults do. Moreover the decisions which are made today will affect 16 and 17 year old for the coming years, while the elderly people will not experience the long-term consequences. Additionally if somebody votes at the age of 16 and 17-years old, while they are young, it’s more likely that they keep voting for their rest of the life. This makes the country’s democracy much stronger than it is.
In conclusion, I believe that 16 and 17-year-old should be allowed to vote because they are well-prepared by their schools and have better understanding of the rules than many adults do. Also starting to vote at a young age helps the country’s democracy to stay stronger, as it’s most likely that they would keep voting for a long time.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would improve elections because it could change the election results.
If 16 and 17- year olds were allowed to vote the results would change a lot. Teenagers should be allowed to vote, because politicians and parties change how the future will look like. Teenagers are most affected by that and that’s why they should vote to represent their own opinions and wishes and goals for the future. On one hand, Teenagers can recognize false propaganda from parties on social media better than older people, because teenagers spend more time on social media and grew up with it and got educated in school about possible dangers of social media. On the other hand are teenagers more easily influenced by their parents friends or also social media, because they are more insecure and not very confident in their own opinion. That could lead to parties getting elected that don’t share the same values and goals as the voters. That’s why Teenagers should be educated in school before they are allowed to vote. To prevent not going voting or voting for “wrong” parties.
I think that it’s important to vote for teeanngers if they were educated enough and know who to vote based on their wishes, believes and on their opinion. Because the millions of teens that vote could change the election results drastic and that way also their futures.
Can you explain why you say "teenagers are insecure and not confident in their own opinion"?
If I was 16 I would vote I would vote because I want to have a say and contribute to the future of the county I live in. 16 and 17 year olds are the perfect age to start because you're more mature and can take on more responsibilities such as voting and having a say. Allowing more people to be involved in elections would mean better decision making and encourage wider involvement and active citizenship. I think it would lead to better decision making as more people are involved and more people can express their views and wishes.
I think that 16 year olds should have a say in choosing leaders because at 16 , young people are already affected by political decisions about alot of educational information , the environment and public transport. Since these laws shape all of there future it makes sense that all 16 year olds should all have a saying in who makes them themselves.
Giving 16 year olds a role in choosing leaders will give them more responsibility for themselves to learn for the future and it would make democracy more inclusive . It would also show loads of trust in themselves and acknowledges that will show responsibility so they are not shocked by the time that they turn 18 .
By involving them earlier into very important decisions they will create excellent decisions for themselves and for other people overall it would benefit themselves to being responsible and they will learn lots of responsibilities. Society could create more informed, active,and responsible citizens . When they are 18 they will be able to know what to do since they have already discovered what they have done and they won't need anyone to tell them what to do ,they can also teach the next generation what to do .
I think the voting age should become to 16 because it gives them an opportunity to be independent and listen
and 16 years old is only 2 years till you become and adult so that’s why I think it should be lowered
Allowing all 16 and 17 year-olds to vote because at this age they have more important things to worry about such as any tests or exams maybe even focusing on driving; and vote could but another weight on their shoulders. One reason for my view is that at 16 and 17 you are still classified as a teen, also at that age you've just finished you GCSE's and are moving on to A level's so you would need to study. With that being said, I also agree on 'prodigious_hedgehog' that 16 to 17 and above would inclode many more voters so there could be a chance that another party could win.
I think allowing all 16 and 17 year olds to vote would not improve the vote since young people and be influenced a lot. They are also very active on social media and can be influenced by their friends. At the same time if they had the 16 and overs vote then there would be more votes changing the election out come which can be good or bad depending on the situation. Overall I don't think they should vote since they are still in school and are hearing lots of different opinions everyday and still learning.
i think letting 16 and 17 year olds vote would not inprove elections beacause people wouldent know enough information about leaders to make the right decision
I think allowing all 16 and 17 years old to vote would improve elections because at the present the youngesters were too smart and intelligent in their own way so when 16s started voting it is sure that we achieve a healthy government with strong and innovative ideas of youngesters.So people get young and energetic leaders which helps the government to move in a new and beneficial track.Young leaders have the great power of change the entire world. Finally this is a clever and brave idea of the country.
Hello, frank_journalist here, I believe that 16 and 17 year old should not be able to vote because they do not improve the elections in any way ,but make it worst.For example sixteen and seventeen year old are not mature enough to do most things because of the tech today all people do is watch their device which can give them less sleep and knowledge, only giving them more information about post, games, and memes.Also The prefrontal part of the brain only finishes developing at twenty five years old.Although people in different places still let them vote even when they know that they still need 9 or 8 years to finish developing their brain.This can cause lots of people to be tricked or manipulated to voting for a candidate that only wants power and lies to people causing them to do stuff they don't want to or forced them to work harder to make the same amount of funds they are making before.Also the Adolescents often impulsively because their prefrontal cortex is still developing, so if 16 and 17 year old brain isn't mature enough, this can lead for them to be easily tricked into voting for a leader that which they don't want to elect as their leader of their country. This can be led into a unfair election for other candidate causing a out burst from from people in different community that wants a fair election and a leader that won't make bad choices that can lead to another world war.Plus if you vote at 16 and 17 the government also have to change the age to do stuff at certain age like drink.In conclusion,this is why the goverment should not let 16 and 17 year old vote.
Hi everyone! I think that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would improve elections because it's their future that is getting decided and 16 and 17 year olds are almost if not as mature as 18 year olds. I also think that there should be a limit for older people ( around 70-75 year olds) since AI is all the rage these days and seniors tend to be more gullible than teenagers.
I think that 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote because some 16-17-year-olds can get jobs, pay taxes, and join the military. Shouldn’t they be able to decide who uses the tax and where it goes, and the way the country is governed?Also, teenagers who are just about to enter adulthood will do them good to be included in political decisions as it can make them mature and experienced for the future. Voting at this age can be controversial but is really dependent on maturity not just age.
However,teens of this age are supposed to be very focused for studying A levels and not voting,also ,young people can be influences by peers very easily(peer pressure ,wanting to fit in.)
Hi, I am Empowered Nectarine.
I think giving the choice to select their future leader to people with 16 or 17 years old is a good oportunity to learn a lot, because sometimes they are more conscious than adults. Some people with young ages know more about politics than most of the old people and they could improve the elections selecting someone that is going to make something great to the country or they are going to give better options and solutions for it. There is a problem because it`s true that most of the people around these ages are not sufficiently mature to take these decisions and most of the politics as we all know lie a lot.
In my opinion, this is a huge problem but I make a propolsal for it, if they want to vote they should get a clear presentation about politics or something like this, because some young people don`t this seriously and they vote something that maybe if they had a logical image of it they won`t vote them. With the votes of young people we can create a better society with open minds.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would improve elections because at the moment politicians pay more attention to the interests of old people, for example pensions. This is because there are more older people than younger people. But pensioners are more likely to vote than those ages 18-25. If the vote was given to 16-17 year olds, politicians would have to pay more attention to the interests of younger people, for example: education, housing, employment, etc. Elections would be fairer because elections would represent the nation as a whole rather than privileging older people. This does not mean that politicians should ignore older people. But politicians should represent all sections of the community young, middle-aged and old. And the only way to do that is to give more younger people - from 16- the vote.
Hi Topical Talkers, so today we are going to talk about sixteen year olds being a leader for things .first in my opinion, i strongly disagree because the person that is leading could act silly or make a strange move i would NOT ALLOW A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD LEADING....any way so thank you for letting me say my speach bye .
In my opinion I believe that 16 to 17 year olds shouldn’t be allowed to vote as there to young and don’t have much experience in life.And I find that younger people don’t really know what they’re talking about when it comes to voting.I also find that younger people struggle to find out what’s going on when it comes to voting.
I think yes because they responsible enough to identify and know about how politics and elections work because some secondary school have that.They find their way to develop through these cicumstances.People who have done elections have a good voice,has excellent knowledge and has marvellous amount of experience.Although they aren't old and don't have enough knowledge than an older person they still can speak out to the world and are smart and bright people.They need to communicate to other people and need to get ideas.They have already done amazing things that adults have done like going to army,driving a car and other things.They need to this because they have been doing a lot of responsibilities
In my opinion, countries should not have a voting age because even if you are old or young that doesn't always mean that the person is less intelligent than others. Those people still have a stand in the world just like everyone else so we shouldn't restrict their abilities as that one person could make a change in the world even with their singular vote or opinion.
Another reason for my thinking is that not all people are affected by AI and its way of tricking people as some people don't back down from what they believe and will always stick to their way of thinking. Also we can't act like they are not a part of our community.
However overs may think differently and i agree with them as well because some older people are still adapting to the new tech of the world and they don't know what to believe and what not to believe. We need to help those people because they are retiring and might want to use technology to entertain themselves.
In conclusion I believe that the voting age in countries should be lowered because they can help 16-17 year olds evolve and it could also help older people such as 60-70 year olds to keep their brains in tact.
I think the voting age should be lowered to 16 because it gives an opportunity for young voters to get involved and be independent
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would not improve elections because they are still teens not fully adults, some people at this age won't know about elections to much. So the voting age should stay mostly for adults.
I think allowing 16 and 17 year olds would not improve elections because they are still teens not fully adults, some people at this age won't know about elections to much. So the voting age should stay mostly for adults.
I think voting age should be lowered to the age of 16 because not all teenagers are bad and at some point everyone learns independence so I think 16 year olds are capable to vote and why not give them a chance that is what I think about voting age.
I think that the voting age should be kept to the age that you can drink alcohol and drive a car however you may disagree.
I think 16 year olds should be able to vote because they are living in this country too.
If you are aloud to:
have a baby
go to war
live on your own
go to work
get paid and much more i think you should be able to have a political opinion on the prime ministers and debate on things in parliment. You should be able to make the best lifestyle for you or you and your children/familys.
I think that you should be able to lower the voting age because what happens if children should be all have opinions they would like to vote if they want to. Know matter how old they are they should be able to do anything they want to do. Kids have opinions don't they well they should be able to express there opinions.
I think no because people are not old enough to vote because there brains are not grown enough to .Mack the important dissection to decide who is the next person to tack over the country and to take responsibility of the country.And if they Make the wrong choice the country will be worse.
I think allowing all 16 and 17-year olds to vote would improve elections because many important decisions affect their lives and future . For example, schools,jobs, housing, the environment and public transport. Young people already follow the news use social media for information and talk about problems in society. They also pay taxes in some jobs, so their voice should count to.
One reason for my view is that voting at 16 helps teenager's build the habit of voting early. If they start while they are still in school and living at home , they can learn how elections work and talk about it with teachers and family like we did in class. This can lead to more teenagers voting in the long term. It also makes politicians listen more to younger people, not only to leer voters.
Thanks for sharing your ideas inspirational_goji! Could you explain why you think that voting earlier would lead to more voters in the long term?
I believe that elections could be better if 16- and 17-years-old were allowed to vote. The young people have new ideas and know a lot about important things like school, nature and social media. When 16 and 17-years-old could vote, the politicians would listen more to the people, which could make the world a better place to live.
Also they can learn more, about politics and how elections really work. This can make them more responsible, when they are older. I think young people can really make a difference in the elections, and it’s fair that young people have the right to vote, because many decisions affect their lives too.