Okay but nobody has yet addressed my suggestion that, if the age is lowered, then it should just apply to local government elections first. How would people feel about young people voting in such elections to put a young person onto their local council? Would this be a way of getting young people involved and increasing their understanding of the entire system before they had to take on the responsibility of voting in an election with a much more complex set of issues?

While some kids are interested in politics at that age and may even exhibit a degree of understanding, I believe that 16 (school-age) is too young to vote. Youth at this age are still growing into their abilities to reason and to empathise and are dealing with the many complex issues of adolescence.

The time for our kids to enjoy the real fruits and lessons of childhood seem to be ever decreasing while we as a society seem to be ever forcing them into premature adulthood (not talking about voting as such here but the many other pressures).

There are many ways our youth can learn about politics and become involved at school in various clubs and debating teams. A better way would be to include politics in the school curriculum to include topics such as the parliamentary system, the Constitution, democracy etc.

Dear Communicat,

If you're going to lower the voting age to sixteen - why put restrictions on it - for only local Council elections?

That's like saying, "Look here's a box of chocolates - but you can
only look at them - not eat them!"

Come on ...

Voting at 16 , Absolutely not .

Personally I believe 18 is to young to make an informed & considered choice .

Calls to further lower the voting age conspicuously come from the political left .
Obviously the object of these calls is to create a new voter block of impressionable young souls readily accessed through the classroom .
With that in mind the very suggestion that lowering the voting age is somehow intended to be in the interest of being fair to those effected age groups is a clear indication of the depths the socialists will go to gain electoral advantage .
They have no interest in young people beyond their usefulness in furthering a political agenda . Honestly I find the intent disgusting .

There is indeed an unfairness in relation to voter age regarding taxation .
I believe it is entirely wrong to require a citizen to pay income tax when that person is not entitled to vote due to age . Many young people have jobs & if they don’t get a say they should not have to pay .

Jamo, I don’t think that there are ugly connotations attached to any desire to allow 16 year-olds to vote.

But more significantly, I think that if they are working, they should be paying taxes. The notion of some people being exempt from paying taxes does not gel with me at all.

Voting is only one means of expressing one’s political leanings – and a very poor one at that. 16 year-olds can have their political say in numerous much more effective and meaningful ways.

Foxy I think it is more like saying, "Here's a Coke or a Pepsi because you are not quite old enough to handle alcohol yet."
Several years ago someone I know was involved in interviewing students for Rotary exchange scholarships. One of the questions he kept asking these students was, "How are we governed?" The thing that really got to him and the other interviewers was the fact that these bright, smart would-be ambassadors had almost no idea. Only one of the candidates mentioned local government - perhaps because her father was actually a local councillor. Almost all did not understand the difference between state and federal government responsibilities.
There is a case for teaching more about these things in schools but it is difficult to do so without bias creeping in. Young people are often highly impressionable and merely liking or disliking a teacher at that point can influence their thinking for life as can friends or family. Kids will also join a youth section of a political group merely because their current best friend is a member. Those things do not involve thinking about the policies. My guess many of those who actually belong to a political party could not tell you where their party stood on many issues but have joined because their family always votes 'x' or there is just one issue they agree with.
As such I still think 16 yrs is far too young to vote.