Last week, B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver caused a stir with his bill to lower the voting age in British Columbia to 16.
A story about the proposed change posted to the Morning Star website and Facebook page garnered quite a bit of comment from readers, most of whom are decidedly against the idea.
“NO!! They have no understanding of the economy, taxes and foolish government spending. How can they make an informed decision without any practical experience?” wrote Harold Schaffner.
But there were some others that give one reason to think seriously about making the change.
“Then why do we let them drive cars…” Fiona Hook pointed out.
In truth, many people who are old enough to vote now cast their ballots for the nuttiest of reasons.
Maybe they liked a candidate’s hair, or it’s the name on the ballot they actually recognize. People vote for all sorts of reasons that aren’t necessarily the sober, serious look at issues and implications for the future we might wish them to be. Would 16 year olds be significantly different in this respect?
Robin Bristow made a very valid point: “So many people trashing people under the age of 18 because they are naive, can’t make proper judgments, don’t have the skills to rationalize, etc. Doesn’t that say more about the failings of adults and society if we don’t trust our kids when we are the ones responsible for raising and teaching them?”
It is important to make our youth feel enfranchised and get them interested in democratic participation. This idea isn’t as crazy as it might appear at first.