Would giving 16-year-olds the vote improve democracy or just change the way campaigns are run?
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
The current/ideal age for people to vote in the UK is currently 18, however, The Labour Party/government are debating if the age of voting should decrease from 18 to 16. If/ when this happens, the government are also considering lowering the age for marriage, full time jobs and joining the army, this is an absurd approach since Minors should be focusing on education, school, future and learning.
First Approach: I would like to give my opinion on this matter. I believe that this idea makes perfect sense as giving 16 year olds the option to vote would involve younger minds to merge together so the government can see opinions from different ranges of ages as the government need to know what the citizens of UK think about the idea. However, this idea has a 30% chance of failing as voting for an election is a lot for your head to wrap around as a minor. Also, children are going to have to juggle learning about the rules and facts about the election and their school work like homework or tuition. Another idea for this is a high tech enhanced AI machinery. This idea would be created to summarise the rules ideas and facts of voting for 16 year olds. However, it would need a human to verify the generated information as AI is known to malfunction every now and then.
Second Approach: I feel like this new system they are deciding on adds pressure upon the 15 and 16 year olds as they will be anxious about voting and who they are going to vote as they haven’t been as experienced as adults that have been voting for many years. They might also feel peer pressured as many pupils will be discussing about who they are voting. AI videos could spread around social media telling people who to vote aswell.
Last approach: Although this is my opinion, the decision is not in my hands. The government should not decide on this amongst themselves, therefore they should discuss/ announce this globally and allow the whole population of adults to decide.
Comments (0)