Should the voting age be reduced to 16 years old?

marshbaboon

If anything the voting age should be raised, in addition to being restricted to people who are actually politically educated.

VanishingActs

I'm glad I didn't have a vote at sixteen. At the time I definitely wanted it but looking back, I would now really regret the way I would have voted. I guess for me, at sixteen I still held a lot of views I'd been taught growing up rather than ones I'd come to after my own research, but now at 21 or even by 18 my views were a lot more grounded in actual facts rather than emotion based on what I was raised with. That's not to say there aren't plenty of sixteen year olds with a great interest in politics but I suppose I just don't see any great need for them to be voting.

conorhal

VanishingActs wrote: »

I'm glad I didn't have a vote at sixteen. At the time I definitely wanted it but looking back, I would now really regret the way I would have voted. I guess for me, at sixteen I still held a lot of views I'd been taught growing up rather than ones I'd come to after my own research, but now at 21 or even by 18 my views were a lot more grounded in actual facts rather than emotion based on what I was raised with. That's not to say there aren't plenty of sixteen year olds with a great interest in politics but I suppose I just don't see any great need for them to be voting.

Same here, my 16yr old self would be outraged!!! at your post, my adult self wouldn't hand my 16yr old self the car keys, let alone the keys to the constitution.

No Pants

Interesting. Let's have a referendum that the people it affects can't vote in.
Supposing it passes and 16 year olds can vote. No real change for politicians necessary. Tell them what they want to hear before the election, then do what you planned to do all along after the election.
Personally I think everyone living in this country should have a citizenship index. Work, paying taxes, volunteering, community involvement and a crime free life would have positive impact on the index score. The opposite would have a negative impact. If your score is 0 or below, you lose the right to vote. If it goes under 0, you lose the protection of the law. If it continues downward, at some point the state executes you because you're actually worse than useless.

Don't think I'll be getting many votes for that. The funny thing is, I consider myself to be quite tolerant and liberal.

Das Kitty

No

Most 16 year olds I know are no more stupid that most adults I know.

I don't think they could make any worse choices than the adult population tbh. I don't get the "easily led" argument either. Having your mind open enough to allow it to be changed is something that many adults could do with a dose of. And considering FF's recent performance in opinion polls, I don't think they're anyone to talk. :pac:

Capt'n Midnight

TBH I'd nearly take the vote off anyone who couldn't pass a civics exam , citizenship test and if they've voted FF in the last two elections a psychiatric evaluation

Jester252

So people over 18 are going to decide if 16-17 years old can vote. The government will have to add something else with this in order to get people to vote.

Capt'n Midnight

Jester252 wrote: »

So people over 18 are going to decide if 16-17 years old can vote. The government will have to add something else with this in order to get people to vote.

Young people don't care about politics. How many children bothered to vote in the children's referendum ??

Peregrine

No

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Young people don't care about politics. How many children bothered to vote in the children's referendum ??

Ah, well you see

Actually..

Uh..


Damn it. Well played, sir.

blue note

No

If a 16 year old is interested in going out to vote, I think they should be allowed. They might have youthful opinions, but just because I don't agree with them doesn't mean they're invalid.

The majority won't bother anyway.

ciaranmac

wretcheddomain wrote: »

Most adults today (~30%) would re-install all the blessings of Fianna Fáil if a general election were to be held tomorrow.

That must be a new definition of "most". You kids with your new lingo crack me up :rolleyes:

Blisterman

No

I'd much sooner trust a 16 year old than an adult to vote based on their conscience rather than self interest.

brick_top

I can see how the parties of the left would be in favour of allowing sixteen year olds to vote

No Pants

brick_top wrote: »

I can see how the parties of the left would be in favour of allowing sixteen year olds to vote

Really? Please explain.

Rigor Mortis

The same celebrity thing applies with adults. Look at the amount of ex GAA managers and players who are in the Dail and County Councils

Wacker The Attacker

When one considers that the majority of current voters in Ireland are mentally retarded when it comes to voting, surely the only logical step is to increase the voting age.

McTigs

No

Wacker The Attacker wrote: »

When one considers that the majority of current voters in Ireland are mentally retarded when it comes to voting, surely the only logical step is to increase the voting age.

no, the logical step is to cut it off after a certain age.... like 80 maybe. Too many senile oul bats an codgers voting based on a civil war that happened 200 years ago

OiOshawott

Why should I be trusted with a vote in a major election/referendum when I can't even decide what I'd eat for dinner?

Peregrine

No

OiOshawott wrote: »

Why should I be trusted with a vote in a major election/referendum when I can't even decide what I'd eat for dinner?

Who said you have to vote?

If you don't want to vote at 16..fine but why should that be the reason that others don't get a vote?

OiOshawott

I was making the point that if I did vote, I wouldn't know who to vote for. Didn't make that clear enough.

MOC88

Not the voters who are the problem its the options - couldn't do any worse than anyone older.

But I'd like to add that if a 16 or 17 year older murders/commits a crime against someone then they are tried as an adult.

Everything else should stays as is.

19543261

No

There should be no age requirement for voting. There is no logical arguement for gauging the validity of a person's ideals based on their age. Intelligence doesnt come in it, else there would be an IQ requirement. Experience doesnt matter, else there would be a background check.

Opinions are fickle at any point in life. People can be ignorant at any point in life. People can be easily lead at any point in life.

The only problem I could see arising from this is parents become more actively involved than before in their childrens' political views by encouraging them to go to vote with them; so by extension a parent could have "multiple" votes. Although, through influence it can be argued this already happens (considering none of us are detached from our families political views) it would only happen a lot sooner.

Hedgemeister

My generation didn;t get to vote until age 21, and that's not exactly 100 years ago.
At age 21, I was two years married, was three years in the Army, and had completed two overseas trips with the U.N.
Anyone under 21 years was deemed to be too immature to vote, but apparantly not too young to marry, to die 'under arms' for mother Ireland, or World Peace!
I didn't actually cast a vote until I was about 26. There weres no colourful characters to vote for back then, just tweedleee or tweedledum, old Civil War veterans or their relatives, so I voted for an Independent, despite being 'politically instructed' by my mother to vote FF, it being the family preference to 'vote for Dev' since the dawn of time, and, according to her, 'FG were the farmers Party, Labour were 'all Commies,' and Independents 'a waste of a vote and Dail space.'
But, my opinion is that no, 16 is far too young for the responsibility of voting maturely & you can't put an old head on young shoulders.

theSHU

Rigor Mortis wrote: »

The same celebrity thing applies with adults. Look at the amount of ex GAA managers and players who are in the Dail and County Councils

So what!! Anyone who volunteers their time to help their community is a worthwile candidate for election.

Eramen

ScumLord wrote: »

T
But with the 20-30 somethings leaving the country in their droves, the new more liberal vote could be weakening against the old guard.

From what we've witnessed, fancy terminology aside:


They are both exactly fúkkin' the same!

Napper Hawkins

I voted no, but only because I wouldn't trust the majority of 16 year olds to be capable of understanding what they are voting on due to having f all life experience.

That said, I'm also painfully aware that there are many 16 year olds out there who are far more intelligent and informed than a sizeable chunk of the older generation and I would include myself in that.

It's a maybe from me.

Pushtrak

ScumLord wrote: »

My fear would be If someone from the likes of boyzone or whatever the current equivalent is decided to run you'd have the majority of teenage girls voting for them regardless of their politics. That politician could just be the figurehead for the record industry influencing Irish law.

They wouldn't win with such a vote. First of all, not all people of that age demo would buy in to it, and even granting an assumption they did, such a tactic wouldn't really work outside that demographic.

Cookie_Monster

RandomName2 wrote: »

It would be weird for 16 year olds to be considered adults in relation to choosing the government, but children in relation to everything else.

Indeed, you would think someone would challenge the criminal, drinking and smoking age limits off the back of it were it to happen.

GarIT

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Indeed, you would think someone would challenge the criminal, drinking and smoking age limits off the back of it were it to happen.

Humans are still developing at the age of 16 and alcohol and cigarettes are much more harmful at that age.

On another note when I was 16 (three years ago) I was obsessed with the IRA, Sinn Fein and killing English people and was clearly not mature enough to vote. I even know someone who is 20 now and believes that taxes go to the governments pockets, apparently the state pays for things by printing money.

My ideal system would be that CSPE is extended to leaving cert and only people that have turned 18 before say 2020 or have passed the leaving cert can vote.

Frank Lee Midere

Frankly, I'd like a slow retreat from universal democracy. It used to be a mechanism whereby those who paid got to send representation to the King. Let's bring some of this back:

Firstly you have to work and register to pay taxes for 5 years from 17 to vote (clearly that raises the effective age). You can, if Irish, earn those years abroad. If an immigrant you need to earn them here. You need a tax clearance cert if self employed. Once you have the right you keep it despite unemployment etc. Thar would make full citizenship an earned right

I'd reduce the parliament to 80 and have 2-3 constituencies elected using electronic voting. To remove regionalism.

Since this would reduce the selection for cabinet I would open cabinet jobs to anybody selected by a Taoiseach subject to Dail approval.