Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. In recent years, there has been increasing debate surrounding the voting age in the UK. It currently sits at 18, but there are a notable amount of people who think that it should be lowered to 16. The voting age already sits at 16 in certain Welsh and Scottish elections, but the countrywide standard voting age still sits at 18. With that in mind, I'd be really intrigued to know; do you think the voting age should be lowered to 16? Or do you think it's fine at 18? Or would you even support a rise in the voting age?
On the Facebook post that inspired me to do this poll (asking the exact same question), it seemed like commenters were dead against this, with most saying that the voting age should be raised to at least 21; I even heard 25, 30, 40 and 50 thrown around as what the commenters thought the minimum voting age should be. However, I'd be keen to know what you guys think.
Personally, I would (perhaps controversially) support the voting age being lowered to 16. I may be slightly biased seeing as I'm less than a year into being legally able to vote, but when I was 16, I knew a number of people who had very strong political opinions and were very well informed about politics, more so than many adults I know. I think plenty of 16 year olds would make very informed votes and deserve the right to have their voices heard. Heck, when I was 16, my dad even let me vote in the 2019 election on his behalf, because he wasn't interested in it at all and he knew I was interested.
Also, 16 year olds have a number of "adult" rights available to them. At 16, you can get married with parental consent, you can join the armed forces, you can do an apprenticeship with an element of paid work, you could leave school and enter the workforce full-time until a few years ago... if you can do all that, then I don't really see why you can't vote.
I do appreciate why people might want the voting age kept the same or raised, but those are just my thoughts.
But what do you guys think?
On the Facebook post that inspired me to do this poll (asking the exact same question), it seemed like commenters were dead against this, with most saying that the voting age should be raised to at least 21; I even heard 25, 30, 40 and 50 thrown around as what the commenters thought the minimum voting age should be. However, I'd be keen to know what you guys think.
Personally, I would (perhaps controversially) support the voting age being lowered to 16. I may be slightly biased seeing as I'm less than a year into being legally able to vote, but when I was 16, I knew a number of people who had very strong political opinions and were very well informed about politics, more so than many adults I know. I think plenty of 16 year olds would make very informed votes and deserve the right to have their voices heard. Heck, when I was 16, my dad even let me vote in the 2019 election on his behalf, because he wasn't interested in it at all and he knew I was interested.
Also, 16 year olds have a number of "adult" rights available to them. At 16, you can get married with parental consent, you can join the armed forces, you can do an apprenticeship with an element of paid work, you could leave school and enter the workforce full-time until a few years ago... if you can do all that, then I don't really see why you can't vote.
I do appreciate why people might want the voting age kept the same or raised, but those are just my thoughts.
But what do you guys think?