Tag: Votes at 16
Extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds would deepen and strengthen British democracy
Reducing the age of enfranchisement from 18 to 16 would not just ensure that young people’s views were listened to, it would also take advantage of the growing political awareness of this age group, as evidenced by the Scottish Independence referendum campaign, evidence from overseas, and some research from the UK, according to Vittorio Trevitt. Similar PostsThe […]
Votes at 16: Seeking a more enlightened debate on youth disengagement from politics
Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whether it is right to re-examine the UK’s minimum voting age. The aim of the publication was to heighten the level of debate around the issue, an aim which one of the contributors, Andrew Mycock, shares. Here, he argues that one of […]
New Democratic Audit e-collection: Should the UK lower the voting age to 16?
Today Democratic Audit releases a new e-collection of pieces which debate the merits of whether to lower the UK’s age of enfranchisement from 18 to 16. Featuring expert contributions from campaigners, academics, and politicians, our aim is to heighten the level debate on this proposal. In introducing the report, the co-editors of the report, Richard […]
Electoral turnout for young people peaks immediately after their enfranchisement, then falls sharply
It is established that young people tend to vote less than older generations, particularly in Britain. However, less well understood are the differences in turnout among young people. Based on elections in Finland and Denmark, Yosef Bhatti, Kasper M Hansen, and Hanna Wass have shown that turnout is highest when young people can vote immediately after being […]
16 and 17 year olds are not fully autonomous, and therefore should not be allowed to vote
The Scottish Government has allowed 16 and 17 year olds to participate in the forthcoming referendum on independence. Here, Dan Degerman argues that this age group, though in some ways in possession of the necessary faculties and experiences required to participate in the electoral process, lack the right to vote due to their restricted options in other spheres of […]
Votes at 16 should be part of the systemic reform needed to counter youth abstention from democratic institutions
Andrew Mycock and Jonathan Tonge argued on Democratic Audit recently that lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK should not be considered while much wider and political reform is required to engage young people. In this post Benjamin Bowman responds, suggesting that enfranchising should be part of this systemic reform, and would place the right […]
The case for lowering the voting age is less persuasive now than at any point in the last 50 years
The debate on lowering the voting age has intensified in recent months, including in Parliament, as Democratic Audit posts this week by MPs Sarah Champion and Mark Harper have shown. In this post, Andrew Russell examines one of the arguments made by campaigners, that the voting age should be lowered to bring it in line with other […]
We don’t need to lower the voting age to ensure MPs listen to the views of young people
Last week MPs debated the the case for lowering the UK’s voting age to 16, following Scotland’s decision to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the independence referendum. Mark Harper MP argued strongly against votes at 16 in the debate, in response to the proposal from Sarah Champion, which was featured on Democratic Audit yesterday. This post is an edited version […]
Votes at 16 will not solve the problem of youth disengagement overnight, but it will help us to address the issue
Last week MPs debated the the case for lowering the UK’s voting age to 16, following Scotland’s decision to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the independence referendum. Sarah Champion MP initiated the debate, arguing in favour of the reform on the basis that young people demonstrate considerable enthusiasm for participating in politics. This post is an edited […]
Voter registration levels for the Scottish independence referendum are already showing the potential benefits of lowering the voting age to 16
16 and 17 year olds will be allowed to vote in the Scottish independence referendum in September. Kyle Thornton, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, welcomes this move and explores how young people are responding to the opportunity. Responding to recent posts by Craig Berry and Andy Mycock & Jonathan Tonge, Thornton argues that giving 16-17 […]
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