Would giving 16-year-olds the vote improve democracy or just change the way campaigns are run?

Most nations set the voting age at 18, although in some countries it ranges from 16 to 21. Would lowering the voting age encourage the youth to participate and take the time to educate themselves
about politics?

It's unlikely that it would actually make a difference for the average person. To start off with, many 16-year-olds may lack the political maturity and experience needed to make a proper decision, which could lead into them making uninformed decisions. Especially if they don't put in the effort to do some research into the candidates. Secondly, lowering the voting age may have little real impact on democracy, as the addition of younger
voters is unlikely to significantly impact the results of an election. Finally,
it could shift political campaigns toward appealing to younger audiences, which
would end up lowering the quality of their points, debates, etc.

A recent poll taken in 2025 found that the opinions of 16 to 17-year-olds are almost split: 51% supported lowering the voting age, while 49% opposed it. Another point is that only 18% said they would definitely vote if given the chance. The poll shows that half of the people affected by this change wouldn't even be interested and they wouldn't
necessarily want to vote.

On the other hand, there still is a large group of teenagers that would want to vote. However, a lot of young voters could be misled or overconfident in views that have been proven wrong. You could also argue that a lot of them would end up voting for the same party that their parents or close friends voted for.

In conclusion, lowering the voting age may seem appealing, but many 16-year-olds lack interest, it’s unlikely to change the outcome of elections, and young voters could be misled or influenced by others. I personally think that it is unnecessary, the increased number of people voting just wouldn't be that significant and I don't think it would really
improve democracy in any way.