Should voting rights match a person’s legal responsibilities?

I think that you should legally be allowed to vote at 18, no matter your background, job or disability; I also think that you should be allowed to vote at 16 if you have a legally recognised job if you have no past criminal activities.

I think this because at 18 everyone is legally recognised as ‘capable’ as they are an adult but at 16 many people have jobs to support their family, for college or housing- this proves that in the eyes of law they are ‘capable enough’ to earn a living but not ‘capable enough’ to vote which seems unfair.

I know this as a 16-year-old with a job and house/ apartment is obviously more ‘capable’ than a 18-year-old without a job and is living with their parent/guardian but law states the opposite purely because of their age, which shows that the law, no matter how revised it is, it isn’t always right.

The written evidence submitted by Professor Sarah Birch and Professor Paul Whitely suggests that: voting at 16 is likely to increase youth turnout in the short term, could increase overall turnout in the medium and long-term and most people don’t have strong views on voting at 16. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/48474/pdf/

Although I believe that, even with a job, someone younger than 16 shouldn’t be allowed to vote as their brain isn’t fully developed and they are most likely still in school meaning that having gone through enough education to understand the different political views and their outcomes.