In the recent years, lowering the voting age has been a large discussion in Europe. This is an interesting debate, because voting is a serious matter. Some believe that the youth should not have a say in politics, because they do not have enough life experience. Others say that adults shouldn’t decide the future of teenagers. One thing is definite: it is important for voters to be mature and well educated when making their decision. This decision will decide who will represent the population as a whole, whether that’s a mayor or prime minister. This led to our research question “Are teenagers ready to vote?”. In order to help us answer this question, we conducted surveys to 101 Marianopolis students that ranged from the age 16-19 related to this topic. We concluded that most teenagers are knowledgeable and mature enough to vote.
Our main interest is in researching if teenagers are knowledgeable and mature enough to participate in voting. Currently, the legal age to vote in Canada is 18. We are curious to see if teenagers had the right to vote, would they be prepared of doing so. In other words, our topic consists of understanding whether teenagers are prepared enough to vote or not. In addition, many teenagers across the world are trying to lower the voting age. For example, in 2015, activists in San Francisco started a protest to allow individuals that are 16 and 17 to participate in voting (The Case for allowing 16-year-olds to vote). Another example, is in London, the
Thousands of these young adults are politically informed, politically active and have the concerns and demands many of the people who actually vote have. However, the youth of Canada also have concerns of their own which they are unable to address substantially. People under the age of eighteen for the most part are concerned in matters much different than say an employed thirty five-year-old. The youth under eighteen still are in high school they are concerned about as a grade 10 student from Western Canada High School put "class sizes, teacher disputes, and minimum wage", (Thompson) among other things. He later goes on to state the fact that by the time he has indeed graduated and become eighteen years old, he will no longer be interested in class sizes nor teacher disputes, therefore he will not address them in his decision on who he decided to vote for. This is a very valid argument and it is also true for the most part to say that the voices of these concerned children should be heard via the vote of their parents. The government of Canada sees the parents as a voice for their children, however parents inevitably will vote in a bias towards their needs such as tax cuts. Without the availability and opportunity to vote and voice their opinions in an electoral system the youth of Canada are left to impact the political process in other ways. Thousands of youth are involved in political parties, political rallies and interest groups
Since 1972, youth voter turnout has been on the decline. According to the Child Trends Databank, 50 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 participated in the 1972 presidential election (2015). Nearly three decades later, the percentage of young adults aged 18 to 24 who voted in the 2000 presidential election had dropped eighteen
Imagine a time where teenagers are allowed to vote on important positions or issues that could possibly define our nation’s future. The average teenager may seem responsible, but would they be able to handle the responsibility of deciding our nation’s fate in the world as well as their own. In the article, “ Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the polls,” Annys Shin, who writes in depth about the historical event as well as shares valued opinions of those who participated in the making of this event, exclaims that the, “ Montgomery County community [was] the nation’s first to lower the voting age from 18 to 16.” This seems to be a test to determine if the nation should lower the voting age completely. However, this test shows varying results, but majority seem to shed some light on the fact that teenagers simply should not take part in voting. The average teenagers seem too young to be mature about issues, are uninterested in what major decisions are made by the government, and are simply being used by their parentals for an extra person support their own beliefs.
Voting in Canada is more important now than ever. At the last federal election on October 19th 2015, there was an overall voter turnout of 68.3%. This was the highest voter turnout Canada had seen at a federal election in two decades. Out of 35,85 million people in Canada, 3,6 million people casted their ballots. However, with the overall increase of people that showed up to this election, the number of young people, especially those aged 18-24 that attended, was at an all time low. This has created a great deal of concern for when these people get to be older and more younger people will be eligible to vote, if there will be anybody in Canada who are still voting with interest and not just abstaining to. It’s important that the most amount of people in Canada vote as possible so that our government is solely represented by people who Canadians agree with their political statements and beliefs. There’s no point in the country being run by people and parties who Canadians don’t agree with because their main job as representants of the country is to voice the beliefs and concerns of those Canadians. It’s important for Canadians to be encouraged to vote young because it is the first years of being legal age to vote that are uninterested in doing so.
The message emerging from a recent research series on youth civic and political participation is clear: today's youth are not disjoined from associational and small political life, but they are increasingly disenchanted with formal political institutions and practices. Children and youth under 18 have made sententious strides in recent years toward fuller involvement in democratic processes. These strides,
In Margaret Adsett’s article on young voters in Canada, she discusses the growing problem of low youth involvement in politics. In the paper, she tries to explain why the number of young voters has gone down from 70 per cent to 40 per cent between 1970 and 2000.
Several previous polls have proven that younger voters tend to vote dramatically less than older voters. The article also sudgests we allow 16 year old voters to take voting impact away from that of much older voters. When in reality the older voters have much more life experience and could make a better, more well founded decision than that of a 16 year
In the article “Takoma Park 16-year-old Savors his History-Making Moment at the Polls,” written by Annys Shin, the author focuses on whether or not lowering the voting age from 18 is a good idea towards politics, by looking at the benefits and the disadvantages of both sides. In 2013, the city of Takoma Park was the first to lower the voting age to 16 and change the 26th Amendment in their municipal. Ben Miller and other 16- and 17-year-olds were capable of stepping into a booth and casting their vote at the Takoma Park Community Center. Allowing this age group to cast a vote will lead more teenagers to vote than their older peers, it will get them into the habit of voting for the rest of their lives, and it will also increase their personal
America has been built on the idea that as citizens, we have the choice to decide what is the best for our country. Millions of Americans cast their vote every election day to make sure their voices are heard on who is going to run their country and what new policies they will bring with them. As stated in Anny Shin’s article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the polls,” voting is a, “valuable privilege,” in which many don’t realize. In the United States, not every is allowed to vote, only 18-year old citizens are allowed to vote. However the number of 18-year olds voting is very low and this has been an issue in the political for quite a while. The concerns and desires of most millennials are not being expressed as many are not voting. Many, like the city of Takoma have proposed to allow 16 and 17-year olds to vote as they believe that voting among millennials will increase.
Politicians should be engaging youth in upcoming elections through face-to-face interaction and the use of technology. Young voters don’t have enough awareness and knowledge about politics. By conducting outreach programs or visiting high schools and college/university campuses, would help young voters understand political platforms and will give the political leaders an opportunity to hear the concerns of young voters. For example, as post secondary students it would be encouraging to have the chance to engage with political leaders, and have a better understanding of what they represent and who we feel best represents us as Canadian citizens.
In the article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the polls,” by Annys Shin, many teens who are 16-17 years old can now vote during the election. The decision was made by the Takoma City Council that in Montgomery County Community, they are the first ones in the nation to lower their voting age from 18-16 years old. A group of 350 students from Montgomery Blair High School were granted the right to vote in elections and one of the student who got the right to vote, Ben Miller had said, “ It’s a valuable Privilege,” and he means that it is a great advantage that many 16-17 years old can now vote. Many young adults who are the age of 18 are most likely not a good age to vote because many of them are planning to leave their childhood homes. And they can lack of discipline and causes them not to vote.
In conclusion, young voters need to take an active role in government in order to continue one of the founding principles of our country which is that we are an democratically elected republic who is looking out for the interest of all of its people. The problem lies not within the older generation who have high turnout rates and are concerned with supporting issues relative to their stage in life. Instead, the burden lies upon the apathetic younger generation whose unique ideals, viewpoints, and experiences are being squandered because we are not voting. It is time for young Americans to step up to the plate.
In the last federal election only 43 per cent of people under age 34 cast ballots, compared to 65 per cent of older voters. If social media isn’t getting young voters than the question continues of what will. Many do believe it is the schools system that didn’t encourage political movement throughout early childhood. In addition it has been proven that if something is not nurtured at a young age, the chances of it ever being put into action is doubted. Many of the families whose parents voted, the children followed and their children. Therefore, creating a clear pattern if young people didn’t start early the likely hood of them ever starting depends on their demand for change. “It used to be that researchers expected that, as young people got older, they would show up in higher numbers at the ballot box — but the ‘Life Cycle Effect’, as it’s been called, looks like it’s starting to fade. The voters that are not showing up now are not likely to show up later, either. That has dire implications for our
2015 was an exciting year for Canada. Andrew Wiggins was named the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year, oil prices plunged and Alberta elected an NDP government, the country hosted the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and for the first time in Canadian history, a father and his son have both been elected as Prime Minister. My paper will touch on the results of the 2015 Federal Election and how it compared to the 2011 Federal Election. It will focus mainly on how the Liberal party was able to encourage more youth to get out and vote in this past election as well as how Canada can continue to support this trend. It will include information about why it is perceived that youth don’t care about politics, how we can increase youth voter turnout, and the implications
“On the one hand, turnout among 16- and 17-year-olds was about 10 percentage points below overall turnout. On the other hand, 16- and 17-year-olds were more likely to vote than those aged 18 to 34. The same trend is evident elsewhere too. In Austria – the only European state with votes at 16 for national elections – this age bracket votes less than the entire population but more than the subsequent bracket.” (Alan Renwick and Barney McCay 2015). Politics as a standalone subject would encourage more participation as the combination of lessons about policy, media and up-to-date current affairs would personally relate to the individuals such as parents being fined for truancy, free school meals etc.