Let kids be kids or should teens be heard? Our writers divided on voting age debate as electoral overhaul splits opinion

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

LAST week Britain moved to lower the voting age to 16 in all UK elections.
It was a major overhaul of the country's democratic system that immediately split opinion over whether they should or would cast ballots.
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Globally, most countries have a voting age of 18
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Changes have been proposed to boost participation and trust in the electoral system
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The proposed changes were designed to boost participation and trust in the electoral system, which suffered its lowest turnout at the
But in last year's European Parliament elections,
So should
In The Irish Sun today, reporter JODIE McCORMACK and Political Correspondent ADAM HIGGINS argue both sides.
FOR - JODIE MCCORMACK
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Jodie McCormack says being young 'does not equate to being uninterested in politics'
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IN 2016 Ireland held a General Election and in 2018 the Referendum on the regulation of termination of pregnancy took place.
I voted in neither, despite the direct impacts both would have on my future as a young woman in Ireland.
Had the voting age been lowered to 16 at the time, I would have been first in line at the polls.
With the
While cynics may argue 16 and 17-year-olds are too young to form a valid political opinion, we already trust them to pay tax through part-time
Simon Harris 'does not expect' poll on Irish unity in this decade
Many will move away from home to start college, work or apprenticeships and rent their first property having never voted in this country.
Politics and society was introduced as a Leaving Cert subject in 2016, with the first exam sat in 2018. In 2022 Norma Foley, then Minister for Education confirmed 2,261 pupils sat the subject in 2019, 3,476 in 2020 and 4,084 in 2021.
Steadily increasing numbers which could be further increased if all senior cycle students had the opportunity to vote, not just the handful of 18-year-olds in 6th year.
The interest is there from Ireland's young people and now is the time for that interest to be heard.
Jodie McCormack
This also gives
Being young does not equate to being uninterested in politics.
The Central Statistics Office report a voter turnout of 50 per cent in the 2022 General Election in the 18-25 age category.
In 2024,
Both didn't have a vote just a handful of years before that.
The evidence is clear, the interest is there from Ireland's young people and now is the time for that interest to be heard.
AGAINST - ADAM HIGGINS
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Adam Higgins says he 'can't imagine many 16-year-olds are even interested in voting'
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CAN we not let kids be kids anymore?
Why are we rushing to ask teenagers to start making important decisions about who should run the country when they barely know who they are as a person yet?
At 16, kids should mainly be worried about their
I don't think it is fair to put it on 16-year-olds to help decide what direction the country should go in.
GROUPS TARGETED
In the run up to elections, politicians and their PR machines specifically target different groups in a bid to win votes.
In the past it was solely through clever slogans, policy proposals and quotes in media interviews and at press events.
However, increasingly politicians are using
Do we really want our teenagers' social media pages bombarded with messages from political parties of all hues warning them about all the things that are wrong in the country and how they are the only ones that can fix it?
Surely there's an easier way to increase voter turnout than lowering the voting age?
Adam Higgins
This is a time when we are constantly reading about rising levels of anxiety and mental health issues in our young people.
Social media is often blamed as one of the main reasons for this – do we really want to throw politics into that mix?
I think it is important to get more people into politics and try increase engagement with the system.
But surely there's an easier way to increase voter turnout than lowering the voting age?
WHO BENEFITS?
What about automatic voter registration for every citizen over the age of 18?
I think we also have to consider who would benefit from this change.
I can't imagine many 16-year-olds are even interested in voting.
How many of you reading this now were engaged in politics when you were 16?
Some teens are really passionate about it already and they would probably make great TDs, let alone voters.
But for the majority of teens, they will probably just listen to their parents and vote for whomever they vote for.
Let's leave our teenagers with two more years of life experience before we ask them to form an opinion about the future of the country.
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Should Ireland allow people to vote from the age of 16?
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