Should you be allowed to vote at 16? Transition Year students at Regina Mundi College in Cork argue for and against
THE right to leave school, the right to a full time job, the right to get a passport in their own name, the right to leave home with their parents consent, the right to get a moped or tractor licence, the right to consent to or refuse surgical or dental treatment, the right to choose their own GP, the right to see their medical records and finally the right to be held criminally responsible.
Irish 16-year-olds, such as myself, have all the above rights. However, we are denied the one thing that made all of the above possible. The simple right to vote.
The Government and generally Irish adults, as a whole, believe teenagers to be immature and politically incompetent. Not giving us the vote at 16 and quickly disregarding the ideas of Dáil na nÓg are evidence of this.
This is a little rich coming from a government in turmoil with debts stretching infinitely into the future. They fail to see we have been politically educated for at least three years at second level through the CSPE programme. Indeed we are probably more informed on the logistics of voting and elections than most adults.
Granting us the right to vote at 16 would, in my opinion, increase numbers on the register of electors for the simple reason that we are educated in this area. Low voter turnout is most acute in the 18-21 age bracket. Had the people in this age bracket been provided with a facility to sign on to the register of electors while still at school, perhaps voter interest would increase.
Furthermore, I believe it is totally unfair for a large group of middle- aged men to be making decisions for teenagers that directly affect their daily lives.
In any other context this would be seen as wrong on so many levels. The minority in the Dáil under the age of 30 are even still a little too old to be “in” with what today’s teenagers want from their country, regardless of how many tweets they post.
Some say we are irresponsible, some say we won’t bother using it if we are given the vote, some say lowering the vote to 16 is pointless as there is little difference between voting at 16 and voting at 18. Well I say, give us the vote at 16 and let us prove otherwise.
So what can teenagers achieve? We may be seen as a burden on society but where would the world be without the likes of Alexander the Great, who, at the tender age of 16 had already conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks and also had a colony under his belt?
Or Mary Shelley, the 19-year-old who wrote Frankenstein and in doing so provided the format from which later horror films and books would develop. Or Dana, who brought home Eurovision gold for Ireland in 1970 at the age of 16. We teenagers are not as idle as some people think.
We want to get involved in creating a great future for Ireland, however, when the time comes for us to show off our greatness, most of us are too involved in preparing for the Leaving Certificate or heading to university — we fall through the cracks in the voting system.
In comparison, most 16-year-olds are in Transition Year and therefore have lots of time to inform themselves on party policies and local candidates in order to make an educated and informed vote. The age gap might be only two years but in my opinion, these are the ones that will be formative in establishing an interest in using our vote.
It seems to me teenagers are not awarded credit where credit is due. What happened to “Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí”? We deserve the right to vote. We are being educated so in the future we will be the backbone of the “smart economy” — ie the debt clean-up crew.
I feel it is unfair to expect us to remain in Ireland as minions of the recession if we have no say in how this clean-up effort is planned. When speaking with girls in my class it does not surprise me more than half want to emigrate. They feel misrepresented and cheated of a good future life by the black cloud that is mammoth tax payments to a government who, in the first place, saw us as clueless and irresponsible.
The irony of this arrangement amazes me. Teenagers are known for our innovative ideas and unbiased views so give us the chance to share them.
Give 16-year-olds the right to vote and give Ireland a fighting chance.
Finally, if exam results are anything to go by, students at Junior Certificate level have an interested attitude towards politics. All other results are forgotten when one sees “A” written next to CSPE — so where does it all go wrong after that?
It is unfortunate that senior cycle coincides with the commencement of “the rebellious streak” in most of us.
We see that two-year gap between the almost complete dependency on our parents and the heady freedom of college life as a sort of purgatory. We crave responsibility and the power to make change happen but when neither is granted we rebel against the very things we want most, the rights we don’t have.
This results in underage drinking, smoking, sex — the list is endless. I believe if we were given the right to vote at 16, we could make a difference to the Ireland of the future.
I know the right to vote wouldn’t turn us into saints but at least our collective voices and opinions might make a difference to the next generation of young people.
“SIXTEEN-year-olds should not be allowed to vote — they don’t know what they’re doing.”
This is the opinion of many middle-aged people when asked their opinion on lowering the voting age. And, looking at how young people are portrayed in the media, who would blame them?
Every other day, we see articles in newspapers about teenagers committing crimes like robbery, joyriding, assault and even murder. This somewhat one-sided view means many people automatically label teenagers as good-for-nothing hooligans. Face it, who doesn’t see a teenager walking down the street wearing a hoodie and become slightly apprehensive?
With this mindset, it’s no wonder people are opposed to giving 16-year-olds the right to vote. They assume that they won’t use it, or make an ill-informed decision.
But people need to wake up and realise you can’t tar all young people with the same brush. Yes, some teenagers may behave like hooligans, and yes, a very small minority may misuse their vote — but the same might apply to the 20-40 age bracket as well.
It seems unfair to me that a 30-year-old can accuse a teenager of being irresponsible, just because they’re younger. But look closer and you’ll see that a huge number of young people are smart, politically aware, and more than capable of using their voting voice for good — just look at the BT Young Scientist awards, the Young Social Innovators awards, and even Gaisce, the President’s award.
These are all entered into — and won by — intelligent, savvy teenagers who want to make their opinions heard. Talk to any of these young people about politics, and you’ll see they are on the same level — or ahead of — many older people when it comes to political awareness. They are mature and responsible and can be trusted in a polling booth.
Fair enough, the current mindset might have applied to young people, say, in the 1950s or around that time, but you have to take into account the accessibility of information now that simply wasn’t there before. Since the introduction of the internet, virtually every home in the country owns — or has access to — a computer, and with search engines like Google and politicians’ own websites, the information needed to make an educated vote is only a few clicks away.
To further verify our points, my group and I conducted a short survey on 225 students in three schools; our own all-girls school, an all-boys school, and a mixed rural school. The results might surprise you.
The survey comprised of three short questions, to be answered yes or no.
The first question was: “If you were given the opportunity to vote at 16, would you?” This question produced the most definitive answers, with 73% of girls and 71% of boys voting yes.
The second question was: “Do you think 16-year-olds are old enough to cast an educated vote?” The results were slightly more even on this one, with 69% of girls and 66% of boys voting yes.
The third and final question was: “If the voting age was lowered to 16, do you think young people would take a greater interest in politics?” Some 64% of girls answered yes, while boys’ answers showed the lowest results, 51% answered yes, securing a narrow win for the yes side.
The mixed rural school we surveyed also had similar results.
* 77% of students answered yes to question 1.
* 72% answered yes to question 2.
* 58% answered yes to question 3.
These results, in favour of voting at 16, are actually higher than the city schools we surveyed, suggesting students in rural areas might be more open to the idea of a lower voting age than students in urban areas.
What we can see from this is teenagers most definitely favour voting at 16, with both girls, boys and students in rural schools producing very similar results.
I really do believe teenagers can be trusted to vote responsibly, after all, we’re all Irish citizens, and deserve a say in the running of our own country. Ireland is in a state of political change, and it’s now more than ever that every opinion counts. As young people, we need to have our voices heard, because it’s we who are going to be directly affected, for better or worse, by the decisions of the new government in the years to come.
Many figures of authority are already behind the “vote at 16” movement, with the Green Party openly supportive of the initiative, and Green Senator Dan Boyle saying he’s “very much in favour” of it. Senator David Norris also agrees with the movement.
It’s not just in Ireland there has been growing support for this. Countries like Iran, Brazil and Nicaragua all allow 16-year-olds to vote.
In 2007 Austria granted 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote and voter turnout is higher for these teenagers than people in the 18-25 year-old age bracket. If this isn’t proof enough that 16-year-olds don’t waste their votes, I don’t know what is.
I definitely think 16-year-olds should be given the right to vote. We’re already allowed to fight for our country by joining the army, so why shouldn’t we have a say in who runs it? Just because we’re young doesn’t mean we don’t have opinions that are worth taking into account.
Every school we surveyed was strongly in favour of it, and I think the best way of getting young people involved in politics is to give them a voice. Just remember — statistics don’t lie, and these ones speak for themselves.
RECENTLY discussing the Fianna Fáil leadership vote with my classmate, Jess, I asked her opinion on its outcome.
Her tentative answer: “Emmm… Sinn Féin?”
I ask you. Is Jess the kind of person we want going into a polling booth later this month? Is she a member of “the educated and politically informed youth” of Ireland? She is not.
With every right comes a responsibility. If I and people like Jess are given the right to vote we have the responsibility to cast an educated and informed vote. Should we not ask ourselves if the 16 and 17-year-olds of Ireland have either the knowledge or the interest to make voting worthwhile?
Political education is a mammoth problem for the youth of Ireland. Many could argue that the Civil Social and Political Education (CSPE) programme, which is only in place at Junior Certificate, exists solely for this purpose. The question we need to ask is, what do these students know about local, national and political issues? Ask a 16-year-old to name five of his or her local councillors and you will have a task on your hands. Ask a 16-year-old to name the last bill through the Dáil or who represents us in the European Parliament and you will most likely be met with more than a few blank faces.
Should we be politically educating to the age of 15 and then allowing young people to not only forget what they have learned but allowing them to lose any interest they had acquired in politics?
Without educating our young people about local, national and international politics in a relevant and practical way we cannot expect the majority of 16 and 17-year-olds to have the ability or the desire to cast an informed vote.
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) believes young people are best placed to advise and inform decisions which directly affect their everyday lives and that a vote is one of the best ways for young people to influence what happens locally, nationally and internationally.
Again, at first glance it appears an extremely legitimate claim. However, we have to put this into perspective. How many issues affect the citizens of Ireland aged 16 and 17 exclusively? For what few matters do exist, are there not the facilities available to those under the legal voting age to have their voices heard and bring political issues which affect young people to the politicians? Organisations such as the NYCI and others such as Dáil na nÓg were set up to allow young people express their opinions.
Up to 25% of people aged 18-25 are not registered to vote. According to the NYCI this is “partly due to the fact that at 18 the vast majority are moving away from home to college, training or work and they fall through the administrative cracks. In contrast the vast majority of youth aged 16 are in school, so it would be very easy to put them on the register”.
Perhaps we should be addressing the problems of lack of interest and knowledge in this age group before considering creating a new one.
If you make the service too openly available to group of enthusiastic teenagers, not all of whom would be necessarily enthusiastic about politics, you will end up with a large number of uninterested and politically undereducated people going to the polls just because they can.
Consider what is referred to as “The global and European momentum towards extending the right to vote to young people at 16 and 17 years old.” Momentum? Surely this is overstated.
Austria is the only European country to lower the legal voting age to 16 with no terms and conditions. A similar arrangement exists in the British territories of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Changes have been made in 7 out of 16 German states; in Slovenia you vote if you are employed; in one Swiss region young people can vote but in local and regional elections only.
What if we were to model our action on that of Slovenia where young people must be employed to have a vote at 16 and 17? This could get very confusing. What is “employed”? Is it full time employment or a couple of hours a week after school? If I am employed at 16 and vote in the local elections but find myself unemployed at 17 for a referendum, has my right to a vote been withdrawn? The lines are blurred, I am sure you will agree.
Above all, the most important reason why the voting age should not be lowered to 16 is because at 16 years of age you cannot possibly know what you should be voting for.
The vast majority of teenagers are sheltered from the reality of what the government does, what difference it makes to have one party in power rather than another and what “cuts” really mean.
They don’t work for a living. They’re not responsible for putting a dinner on the table. They don’t put the clothes on their backs.
They don’t have a mortgage and bills.
Finally, what is worth considering is that here, in Ireland, the law of the land decrees that at 16 I am not old enough to know whether or not I should drink, smoke or have a credit card, so the state decides for me.
If I am not old enough to make these decisions for myself, how can I possibly be expected to make them for my country?
