First it was Austria; now Jersey is following suit. One has to question the judgement of people who wish to lower the voting age to sixteen. Further, one needs to ask oneself some pretty fundamental questions, too.
Are sixteen-year-olds really mature enough, and politically savvy enough to make sound judgements at the poles? Some will be, of course; but the law shouldn’t be changed to accommodate the few exceptions. My guess is that the majority of sixteen-year-olds today are far from mature enough to make shrewd political decisions.
In years gone by, sixteen-year-olds, because many of them went out to work at a far younger age, were arguably much more politically-savvy than our mommy-coddled youngsters of today.
It is to be hoped that this trend does not continue. Poltics is a serious business; and a little experience of life goes a long way in helping people make solid political decisions. - ©Mark
THE GUARDIAN: New voting age shows increasing support for lowering the voting age across the continent, Electoral Reform Society says
Young people aged 16 and 17 will be able to vote for the first time in forthcoming elections on the island of Jersey this week.
The island voted to lower the minimum voting age from 18 to 16 in July 2007 but the change in the law hasn't been exercised until now. The age group makes up 2% of a population of around 90,000 people, with over half of the island registered to vote in the elections on Wednesday.
Derek Gray, the chair of the privileges and procedures committee, which was charged with reform in the States, the name by which the government of Jersey is known, said: "Guernsey and the Isle of Man have already lowered the voting limit but we're not following the leader, we actually want to engage with our young people. Sixteen and 17-year-olds already have a lot of responsibilities like getting married, so it seems logical they should be able to vote. Jersey 16-Year-Olds to Vote in Island Elections >>> Jo Adetunji | October 13, 2008
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