18. At that age you are a man or a woman, no longer a boy or a girl. You become an adult at that age.
Says who?
Anything earlier and you run a higher risk of non-voters because most 15-17 year olds probably care nothing about politics and don't watch the news at all.
So what if many of them don't vote? A great many people above that age don't care about politics either and don't vote - that's hardly an argument to set it at 18 or any age. Indeed that's an argument towards assessment on non-age related grounds.
The law says you become an adult at midnight the morning of your 18th birthday. Whether you act like an adult is a different story. Heck, as you well know, there can still be 40 year olds who act like little kids and 14 year olds who act like grown, mature adults.
So what if that's what the law currently says - it's an arbitrary figure that can be changed.
The issue of non-interest politics really doesn't make a whole lot of different to me, but I want to try to reduce, as best I can, the non-informed votes. I like the fact they are voting, because it is our civil duty, but PLEASE try to know something about what your voting on.
Well if it's informed voters you want, then surely you shouldn't seek age based access to voting at all, but some form of civics exam based system.
Poll
