According to this British newspaper, both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party now say they support lowering the voting age in Great Britain from 18 to 16. The article also says that the voting age in Austria is currently 16. Thanks to Ed Still for the link.
Interesting. I doubt that will catch in in the United States for sometime.
I have been looking at possible Obama Supreme Court nominees, and it is possible that some of them might be somewhat better on electoral reform, should the issue come up….
Crazy idea. Children under 18 are just too young to vote.
How about ZERO plus 1 second ??? — for NUTCASE regimes.
“Crazy idea. Children under 18 are just too young to vote.”
And people over 65 are just too old :/
Frankly, almost any number is going to be at least somewhat arbitrary. I think 18 is one of the better ages to be the cut off, though for little more reason than historical and social significance of being 18. However, driving a car seems about as big of a responsibility as voting (and in the short term probably less safe, though I’m not in favour of raising the driving age).
The voting age seems like it could become an interesting states rights case, at least in theory. As the 26th Amendment is worded, it sounds like states are prohibited from preventing anyone age 18 or over from voting, but states could theoretically let people under the age of 18 vote. Before the amendment was passed, certain states had laws that allowed people under 21 (but I’m presuming over 18) to vote, so I’m curious what a court case on the subject would lead to, if a state did start allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote…
Some states allow 17 year olds to vote in primaries if they will be 18 by the time of the general election. Does the 26th amendment apply to federal elections only or to state elections also?
In 1976, I just missed voting by a few months. Go, 16, Go!
Even when I was 18 I thought the voting age should be 21, I still feel that way. As far as I know, in many states you have to be 21 to hold state office, and I think that the age one must be to hold office should be the age of reason at which you can vote for said office (except perhaps in the case of the house of representatives).
I support lowering it in the US. At age sixteen, I was already becoming interested in what was going on politically. Although, not every sixteen year old may participate, (there are many adults right now who don’t) those who are interested should have the chance to have their voice heard, since things like war, the economy, and the environment will directly affect them. In addition, it will make their civics course more relevant.
One motivation for lowering the voting age is the belief that high school students (in their junior years and senior years) would be likely to register, since the high school would facilitate distribution of voter registration forms. And, the thinking goes, via the high school, there would be a social setting in which students would talk about voting and candidates and campaigns, so they would be “socialized” to continue voting and being interested in government after they left high school.
Perhaps someone has studied the result of Austria’s having lowered the voting age to 16.
Why not simply say, anyone under the age of 18 that is employed may vote?
MPM:
It varies from state to state. In some states, you can run for any non-federal office at 18 (I think Vermont and California are two of those.) In New Jersey (most familiar with it since it’s where I grew up), you need to be 21 to run for state assembly, 30 to run for state senate or governor, and 18 for any other non-federal office.
And I agree with you; you should be able to vote and run for office at the same age, though I would fix that by lowering the age requirements for offices (including federal ones) to 18.
I wonder if the LibDems support this as well?