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 (642)
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?
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... 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.
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'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