Catherine Evans: Voting is a subject better learned at 16

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      It’s time to lower the voting age to 16. With fewer than 40 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds voting in their first election, our democracy is not looking very democratic. Vancouver municipal elections are particularly hard for new voters to get their heads around. So many candidates, so little opportunity to get to know the people who are running and what they care about.

      Lowering the voting age will accomplish two important things: it will get politicians into schools to talk about voting and election issues, and it will increase the likelihood that a parent, sibling, teacher, or friend will be there to help a young person overcome barriers to voting.

      Why is it important to get politicians into schools and other places to meet and talk to young people? It is not surprising that many young people have a somewhat jaded view of politicians. Politicians don’t much talk about things young people care about, and when young people do see and hear politicians talking, it’s usually question period clips or interview sound bites—not the kind of thing that inspires or engages the imagination about how the world might be different and better. A personal interaction, however, connects people and gives the chance for new insights and learning. It makes a relationship of trust and mutual respect possible.

      Municipal elections are about issues that matter to young people—transit, rental housing, playing fields, bike lanes, community centres, parks, and schools. If 16 and 17-year-olds could vote, politicians—and everyone else—would be forced to take their views about these issues seriously and act accordingly. Young people would in turn hear from politicians about why voting is important. Research shows that when people learn about the importance of voting early in life, they carry that knowledge and the habit of voting throughout their lives.

      Barriers to voting are a major issue for many young people. When I’ve been in a polling station on an election day, it’s usually young people who have recently moved that get turned away. Rarely do they come back with the extra document they need. And the line-up to register to vote on election days is often long—having to wait a second time can be too much. But if you voted for the first time when you were still living at home or still in school, and you learned what the barriers are and how they can be overcome, you will be better prepared to tackle the next election on your own.

      In our Vision Vancouver nomination race, we understand that young people make good voters. At 15, we welcome you to become a member and vote. As we head toward the fall municipal election, I invite everyone to consider the benefits of lowering the voting age.

      Comments

      5 Comments

      Why Young People Don't Vote

      Jun 10, 2014 at 2:21pm

      Governments are, more or less, land-protection schemes. Young people don't have land. Most of them are reasonably healthy (tho fewer now than at any point in history, famines excluded). Government is essentially a service-provider for dowdy old bags who couldn't defend their own lands, who, instead, rely on ideological state apparatuses to groom young (mostly) men to do these things for them. For the "privilege" of acceding to a militaristic land-game designed by the old women for the old women, that same young man will be taxed to pay for the same old woman's healthcare. Isn't it great? If you're a young person and not cynical about it to the point of nonparticipation, you're a moron.

      one warm body, one vote

      Jun 10, 2014 at 2:28pm

      How about no age limit at all?

      You just have to have ID, solve a simple quadratic, name the last two Prime Ministers, and find Nunavut on a map.

      If you can't answer any of these, why should you get to decide anything? Go back to bed.

      Southside Jim

      Jun 10, 2014 at 6:13pm

      What does voting age have to do with Parks Board? Why does this candidate confuse issues of parks with voting ages? Can parks board even change voting age? I don't think so.

      Markfornataro

      Jun 10, 2014 at 8:24pm

      I agree that 16 year kids should vote; they have more at stake than old folks, like protecting the environment. And they are hip to that and often better informed and more active. As an older person myself I'm often embarrassed by the ignorance and apathy of others my age. As the song goes for some... "Oh my friend we're older but no wiser."

      Walter White

      Jun 11, 2014 at 12:07am

      What has this person said about maintaining Vancouver's parks? Nothing. It's time to consider candidates with a real interest in parks, not just people who want to use it as a stepping stone