Too Young to Vote?

“A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifetime.” -Kofi Annan

 Elections are an essential part of building a democratic society. That's why, by elections, every citizen could be involved in a fundamental political process. The right to vote is not only part of the elections; it is also the way to form and to control the government and future democratic development of your country. That’s the reason, it’s really important to be informed about the political situation in your country, because informed decisions really affect every citizen’s life. By realizing the importance of elections, it becomes clear that every part of the community should have a right to vote without any kind of discrimination - for example, discrimination based on economic condition, workplace, state condition, etc. Despite this, in many countries young people don’t have the right to vote.

Lowering the voting age is becoming a more and more important issue in a modern society. In most countries people become eligible to vote at the age of 18, but there are exceptions. For instance, in Greece, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, or Estonia, 16-17-year-old citizens have the right to vote. It’s important to mention that in Estonia, Malta, Germany, and Belgium, people from the ages of 16 to 17 can participate in local or state elections. Considering the fact that the results of elections affect every single citizen’s life, young people should be granted the voting right. 

Young people, in general, are the future of every society; that’s why their thoughts and decisions should be respected and considered. Most 16-17-year-old people already have progressive vision of the political development of a state. The opinion that young people are not interested in politics and they have no clue about geopolitical matters is no longer relevant. Today, young people have access to political or economical information across the world from the internet or from social media platforms. Also, there are so many projects dedicated to youth geopolitical engagement and political education  - the Model United Nations conference, is one of the best examples of this, and many young people enjoy participating in this kind of projects, gain important knowledge, and take a step towards becoming informed, responsible, and respected citizens or even future political leaders. It’s clear that adolescence is becoming increasingly influential and active in social life, and modern society should take this into account. If legislation fails to respond to modern challenges and social realities, it will no longer serve as the effective way to regulate people’s everyday and legal relationships. That’s why parliament and relevant policemakers should discuss whether the voting age should be lowered. 

Despite the above-discussed arguments of why young people should have a right to vote, this issue caused a debate at the international level. There are several multinational organizations that discuss this issue. For example, the European Union lowered the voting age to 16, but members of the EU can decide independently and not be bound by the opinion of the EU at this point. 

Despite positive changes, there are so many officials who think that lowering the voting age isn’t a good decision. It’s important to mention that they have reasonable arguments. For instance, one of the most important arguments for why young people shouldn’t vote in elections is that, according to the United Nations’ Children’s Rights Convention, 16-17-year-old people are still not fully developed children or legally not adult, who mostly aren't expected to be involved in political discussions, and they can’t make sufficiently  relevant decisions. As it has already been mentioned, rightly informed decisions are essential for a country's democratic development. But against this argument, even adults who have the right to vote, and there is no doubt about this, sometimes can be poorly informed about the political situation in their country. Currently, there are many adults who say that they aren’t interested in politics and that’s why they don’t watch debates or pay attention to ongoing political changes. It will be unfair to ban young people’s participation in elections because of the misconception that they aren’t informed enough, when we can find so many adults who don’t even know how many political parties are involved in elections,or who their leaders are, etc. 

At some point, this opinion may be discriminatory, because even young people are part of society, and they are affected by the government's actions. For instance, working from 16 is legal in so many countries; sometimes their working rights may not be proper for their age. In most countries, parliament is responsible for the formulation of legislation. Parliament members are representatives of citizens, and that’s why young people should have the right to choose who will be their representative and who will draft legislation that will impose their obligation or protect their rights. Furthermore, every politician needs legitimation. The source of legitimation is citizens’ votes. It’s important to mention that if every part of society participates in elections, politicians' legitimation will be higher. Therefore, that’s why young people should have the right to vote. 

It’s important to discuss another argument for why young people shouldn’t participate in elections. People think that 16-17-year-old people aren’t mature enough to make informed decisions because of their age and state of personal or mental development. This is also an important and reasonable argument, but we have to discuss the research results about this issue. It is proven that 16-17-year-old teenagers have cognitive and critical thinking skills to make decisions. In some countries' laws, we can find a piece of legislation that says that a child who is mature enough can make his/her own decisions about some issues, and their opinion, right, or interest should be respected. It’s clear that elections are one of the best ways to protect your rights and interests despite how old you are. If teens sometimes have a right to decide if this specific legal agreement complies with their interest, why shouldn’t they have a right to decide whether some political parties or leaders comply with their interest? That’s an important question, and people who think that only adults can vote should answer it.  Of course, sometimes a teenager can vote for a specific political group, but it’s so difficult to prove that he/she made the wrong decision. Especially since every single person has his own way of thinking and different political views, sometimes one political leader may be so responsible and likeable to the specific person, and another may be less preferable, thinking that he/she can’t lead the country or city in the right path. Despite there being thoughts about young people that it’s easy to influence their decisions, there aren’t solid arguments that prove that adults also can’t be influenced, especially when they haven’t got information about the political spectrum. Sometimes young people deal with disinformation better than adults or older people, and because of this, their political decisions can be more accurate than others.

Modern society agreed that people should have the right to vote without any kind of discrimination. At some point, age-based restrictions on participating in elections may be considered as discriminatory. Also, if young people had a right to participate in elections, political parties and leaders would be more focused on modern needs and challenges, because they would have to respond to young people’s electorate demands. A society that isn’t focused on the future will be stagnant and less developed than other societies. It’s really important for law and politics to develop an independent citizen who realizes her/his responsibilities and is actively involved in the civic life of the community. Elections are the best way for young people to realize that they are so close to becoming independent human beings whose opinion and vote are respected. It’s essential to develop a system that helps and motivates citizens to be engaged in social processes according to their age and social status. So 16-17year-old people, who can freely decide whether some issues comply with their interests or not, should be involved in the election process (of course it means active voting rights). Countries should have to decide which type of elections this right applies to. For instance, parliamentary elections, local elections or both. 

Legal acts on human rights protection, for instance, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, refer to civil and political rights. It’s important to realize that under this convention, the term “child” means people under 18. So, we can determine that this right combines the right to vote, because this (right to vote) is an important and the most popular part of civil and political rights. 

To conclude, it’s important to realize that there are some risks connected with teenagers’ right to vote; that’s why this issue is so controversial, but the state should help young people to be involved in civil relationships independently and to realize and take care of the rights and responsibilities that they have as citizens. That’s why the right to vote, at least in local elections, can be so helpful. States and officials should think about this issue, because the future depends on young people, and it’s essential to work on developing and moderating views about young people and their rights. As said once, a society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifetime.