There continues to be debate amongst politics students, political scientists and crowd-pleasing politicians at student conferences over the voting age. Should it be reduced to 16?
Unlikely though it is to happen, it becomes a prescient question in the light of two recent referendums. The 2014 Scottish referendum allowed 16 and 17 year olds to join the vote, and saw a huge proportion of that age group give momentum to the Yes vote, for full devolution. Then came yesterday's vote on gay marriage in Ireland. Passing by a 62% vote, few doubt that young Irish voters felt particularly mobilised to join the referendum, even travelling from hideouts abroad to do so. Now the youth vote alone did not give Ireland a constitutional amendment which introduced gay marriage equality. In Scotland, the reduction in the vote to 16 did not ultimately produce devolution either. But in both cases, a radical change to the status quo was given momentum, and the possibility of popular consent, by the presence of a motivated youth vote.
Votes for 16 may not be on the agenda, but an enfranchised and mobilised youth vote would change the political landscape in future landscapes, almost certainly away from the traditional party structures. Perhaps that's one reason for them to steer clear.
Unlikely though it is to happen, it becomes a prescient question in the light of two recent referendums. The 2014 Scottish referendum allowed 16 and 17 year olds to join the vote, and saw a huge proportion of that age group give momentum to the Yes vote, for full devolution. Then came yesterday's vote on gay marriage in Ireland. Passing by a 62% vote, few doubt that young Irish voters felt particularly mobilised to join the referendum, even travelling from hideouts abroad to do so. Now the youth vote alone did not give Ireland a constitutional amendment which introduced gay marriage equality. In Scotland, the reduction in the vote to 16 did not ultimately produce devolution either. But in both cases, a radical change to the status quo was given momentum, and the possibility of popular consent, by the presence of a motivated youth vote.
Votes for 16 may not be on the agenda, but an enfranchised and mobilised youth vote would change the political landscape in future landscapes, almost certainly away from the traditional party structures. Perhaps that's one reason for them to steer clear.
2 comments:
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its very nice to read
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