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

I think 16 year-olds should get the vote because it would improve the vote more than it would change the way campaigns are run. My first reason why I think 16 year-olds should get the vote is because most votes have long-lasting impacts on people, meaning it would affect the younger pupils as they have a currently longer lifespan than elder pupils therefore the younger people should get to vote for themselves. Also, the youth will be the world’s future generation therefore they should be able to help choose their future impacts on their lives. Another reason I think 16 year-olds should get the vote is because a huge increase in votes as many people who were too young to vote before they changed the age restrictions could now vote as they pleased and either way the elder pupils will overpower/dominate the votes of the youthful pupils as there are approximately 900,000 elderly people from 50+ years and only approximately 750,000 younger people in the UK. Furthermore, according the Child Rights International Network (CRIN), many other countries let 16 year-olds vote but some have rules about letting them vote. For example, Slovenia lets them vote as long as they are employed whereas Argentina just lets them vote regardless.

Some people might disagree saying that letting 16 year-olds get the vote would ruin the dynamic of how the campaigns are run and how the votes are properly submitted and not just for laughs/to be funny. Many might think that because of their age that they couldn’t vote responsibly and would just do it to be funny, like they don’t think they are mature enough to vote and don’t have enough knowledge about politics to qualify to vote. However, I disagree with their thoughts because most 16-year-olds are still in school and will currently be learning about things-such as politics-and will have fresh knowledge about the world’s current politics meaning they should know how to vote. Whereas many elders might have forgotten some things about politics and therefore do not know as much as other younger people. In addition, from the BBC website the results of the vote from the British Youth Council if 16 year-olds should be allowed to vote the results came out as 66% yes, 20% no and 14% not sure, therefore the UK votes have said that 16 year-olds should be allowed to vote overall and that is showing that many people have the opinion to let younger people vote.

Overall, I think that 16 year-olds should be able to vote but maybe with a few restrictions, such as having to be employed or being well educated, so that the votes don’t become corrupt. What do you think about this political dilemma?