EXTENDING THE VOTING FRANCHISE
the voting age in Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Scotland, a lively discussion ensued place in other parts of the United Kingdom. There have been non-binding votes in favour of such a measure in the regional assemblies of Northern Ireland and Wales and the age of electoral majority has been much discussed in the British media.
Why has the franchise age suddenly received so much attention? Many democracies have experienced declines in turnout in recent years and research has often noted that these declines are strongest among younger groups. Not only are the young generally less likely to vote than their older counterparts, but in many states successive generations
are less likely to vote than their predecessors and members of these younger generations often fail to acquire a taste for voting as they age.
Declining turnout has been associated with disengagement from and disaffection with politics. Increasing numbers of people, especially young people, feel that politics is not for them and that politicians don’t listen to their opinions. Given that participation is key to democracy, this trend is a cause for considerable concern. If people do not stop and think about major public issues and voice their views at the ballot box, governments do not get a clear idea of what people want and representation suffers in consequence. It may not be necessary for everyone to take
part in elections, but those who do take part need to be sufficiently representative of the population as a whole if elected leaders are to have a clear idea of people’s preferences. When large numbers of citizens from any one group fail to participate on a regular basis, democracy suffers. And when this group is the generation that will be longest affected by the policies enacted, there is serious reason to worry.
Lowering the voting age to 16 has been touted as a partial solution to this problem. There are several components to the arguments that have been put forward. Firstly, adding more young people to the electorate will increase their collective voice, which will in turn give politicians greater incentive
Above: A ‘Yes’ campaign poster during the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 when 16 and 17 year olds were given the right to vote in a national poll for the first time.
to pay attention to their views and needs. If politicians believe it is important to engage with younger electors, they will devote more energy to addressing their concerns. This will, so the argument goes, give younger people an enhanced sense of involvement with politics and will make more of them connect with democratic processes.
A second argument for the positive effects of a lower voting age centres on the long-term consequences of exercising the franchise when young. It is
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