From the 17-year-olds to newborn infants, should voting be an automatic right for anyone?
Edit: Interesting answers all around. I had a strong feeling the answers were mostly going to be no.
However, with the UK cracking down on online NSFW, the US possibly doing the same with the Kids Online Safety Act, and other countries passing similar online laws all in the name of doing it “for the kids”, I find it funny how the kids in question have no say in how their representatives (supposedly) protect them. Maybe a no limit on voting is stupid, but I still found the question interesting to ask.
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From the 17-year-olds to newborn infants, should voting be an automatic right for anyone?
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No. That just makes it far more likely that they do what their parents tell them to do.
No, but if a minor has a job, they should be able to vote.
18 is a good starting point. I don’t think it should be lowered.
I wish there was a way to limit the votes of people with dementia, but I don’t think it’s possible without a test, and that would be horribly abused just as it “literacy tests” were in the past. So I don’t really think there should be an upper limit.
Yes, well, not quite automatic, but on request, maybe with a test under 14 (and a separate constituency, separate representatives), otherwise parents vote instead. Over 14, equally to all others. But honestly, I’d take only the 2nd one, I don’t think many would be interested under 14 anyway.
No then we will have kids voting how their parents tell them to. If anything the lowest I would be okay with it is at 16-17 because at that age younger folks can work and pay taxes which means they do deserve representation
If they can draft you into war you should be able to vote.
No. This is a really stupid idea.
No children are heavily influenced by their parents opinions in some case is completely under their control.
We have too many children in adult bodies voting already. We don’t need more children.
No. If we’re interested in the quality of the electorate, it should be higher. That’s not our only interest though, so 18 is a supposedly happy middle ground.
I think being subject to certain laws like selective service should give you the right to vote. Don’t want 18 year olds to vote? Raise the age of the draft.
I think the voting age is pretty arbitrary. It was lowered to 16 in my country (UK), which I think is good but honestly it won’t make a big difference here since most young people are concentrated in staunchly left wing areas anyway.
I think that 16 is a good age though. The big thing for me is that it feels unfair that the older generation, who usually already have theirs, have such a huge influence on politics. Young people would never (and didn’t) vote Brexit because we knew how badly it would impact our futures, even the younger right wing knew it was a shit idea, but it went through anyway because Nonna spends all day reading the Telegraph. That alone has caused a lot of tension between generations in the UK which could have been mitigated if young people felt like they had any kind of say in politics, which they really do not.
No, it should stay at 18
No, I think it’s reasonable to expect some education and maturity from our voting population. Obviously, that varies from person to person, so the most fair way to implement it is a minimum age restriction.
No, children aren’t old enough and don’t have the developed mind. That said I see this as a good argument to not have children pay taxes in their summer jobs, as that’s taxation without representation. Also, its a good argument against charging children as adults in crimes, because anyone who can have their life completely ruined by the criminal system deserves a vote in how its run.
Nope, but any minor who is legally emancipated should have that right
No, i personally think 18 is fine.
I would have voted for Trump in 2016 as a 15 year old simply cuz all my info cane from parents. I would have never voted for him knowing what i know now
No, it requires adult judgement. Unfortunately the best we can do is say you should have some by 18, although some clearly never acquire the skill.
It is a right for everyone but there absolutely should be an age limit to exercise that right.
No, I don’t think we should determine who will manage our government based on the opinions of literal toddlers.
Idk, it’s not like 14 year Olds don’t participate in society
Putting my thoughts into the ring, my opinion is complicated. On a gut level, I’m hesitant about the idea of children voting. “I don’t want susceptible and gullible children to swing the results of an election.” Yet, we have susceptible and gullible adults swinging elections. So why can’t children have a say in what happens to them and who gets to represent them?
I think what prevents me from fully saying yes is that I don’t think there’s enough interest from them in wanting to vote. But if the interest is there, they should fight and earn it like many groups of people who fought for the right to vote in years past.
I think the voting age in the US should be the same age as the requirement for military service. 18, not younger. Younger, they’re still learning how the world works. They have no business voting for things they don’t understand. Children should be concerned with being children. A society that doesn’t provide for their safety and education during this time has failed.
I also think there should be consequences for NOT voting, like a fine or temporary loss of certain social services. A country this big and powerful who’s population votes at 20% is pure insanity. Also Voting day should be a holiday where everyone gets off work.
Pragmatically a newborn doesn’t have the capability to vote, but I would be supportive lowering the age to 12 or so and open to lower than that.
Agree limited and some basic cognitive testing, etc… With no exaggeration I’ve witnessed alzheimers patients casting votes.
No, but we should lower the age limit to something like 14-16.
No. Everything has a limit. We collectively understand that there is a certain age in which one is capable of being able to be well-informed about something and make a rational decision based on that information. That age has been agreed upon to be 18. If anything, scientifically speaking, it should be raised to 25 or so.
The younger you are, the more easily manipulated you are. Letting a 10 or 12 year old vote, is not actually going to be them “voting”; it’s just going to be the parents sneaking in an extra vote for their ideology/representative/party.
Also, like others have said: We should apply the “no taxation without representation” principle in this case, and eliminate taxes for working people under 18.
Edit: I misread the question. No.
While you can make the argument that plenty of adults dont understand what they’re voting for at all and that they’re just extensions of their parent’s, the rate goes up to 100% as you allow younger people to vote.
Parents dont deserve an extra vote for every kid they have, just like Billionaires don’t deserve an extra vote (yes, citizens united is shit).
Registration should be automatic once you’re eligible to vote. I’d be more inclined to a top age.
Once you reach 80, congrats. You won voting. You no longer need to vote again.
Draft age or when they start paying taxes.
Voting should be a constitutionally protected right. I also think that 18 is an acceptable time for people to start voting.
If they’re doing limits it should be upper and lower limits, not just lower. If a 17 year old can’t vote because they’re too clueless, my 90yo grandmother certainly shouldn’t be able to because she’s clueless too – just for different reasons.
18-70 or even 21-65 wouldn’t be unreasonable. Young people are often immature/ignorant, old out of touch/senile. Both are also more easily manipulated by propaganda media they don’t understand. Not as a rule but generally enough to negatively impact democratic politics.
No. 18 and up
i like the idea and i agree in principle, because laws affect kids as well so they should have a say. However, I feel like this will cause parents to really go hard indoctrinating their kids to believe a certain way. Or worse yet, threaten them to vote a certain way.
16 at the lowest.
If you can be drafted into war at 16, you should be able to vote at 16.
I think it’s fine to have age limits, but they should work both ways. All of the (stated) reasons for teenagers not being able to vote are applicable to the overwhelming majority of people over 70.
I think 18, the age you can go to war for federal elections make sense.
It’d be cool if you can start local elections at 16 and learn your civic duty then.
I would like to think that all voters at least had a chance to receive a basic education before voting.
Children are too easily manipulated by their parents. They should only be allowed to vote once they’re independent adults. So ideally 18.
Also, how tf would an infant vote 😂