Vote @ 16? AMs To Debate
Last autumn I went with a couple of Sprouters to an event called Politics Versus Young People at the Pierhead building in Cardiff Bay (the best structure down there - take that Wales Millennium Centre!).
It was a cracking event where questions about tuition fees, EMA funding, the minimum wage and of course the voting age flew around the room.
Next week the discussion about lowering the voting age in our country takes a huge leap forward as it is scheduled to be debated in the National Assembly for Wales. On Wednesday 4th July 2012 AMs will for the first time deliberate on this motion, which was put forward by Julie Morgan AM, Aled Roberts AM, Bethan Jenkins AM (who was at #PVYP2011) and Paul Davies AM; you can be there too as there is a public gallery at the Senedd (it’s best to book rather than rock up).
Yet it’s a school day and seeing as this’ll be up on CLIC too, you might not be able to simply pop down the Bay. It’s also definitely a listening gallery rather than a ranting gallery, so please share your views on lowering the voting age in Wales in the comments section below. There are passionate arguments for and against the idea (such as; if you’re old enough to work, you should be able to vote; many 18-24 year olds don't currently vote so why would 16 year olds want to vote? If a 16 year old can be charged as an adult, they should be allowed to vote; young people may not take voting seriously) but what do you think?
Info » World, Europe, UK & Wales » Politics » Welsh Politics
Info » World, Europe, UK & Wales » Politics » Youth Politics
Info » World, Europe, UK & Wales » Politics » The Right to Vote
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- Comp: Shoot Democracy
- Politics Versus Young People
- Hot Seat Special: Vaughan Gething AM
- UK Youth Parliament Proves Voting Age Should Remain
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6 Comments – Post a comment
hisgirl210410
Commented 10 months ago - 28th June 2012 - 09:31am
I think at sixteen i personally have plentyof things to be dealing with from exams to options to just being a teenager, the last thing i need is to have to decie how my county is going to be run! I also think at a young age we are heavily influenced by the media and those around us, we are still trying to work out who we are and i think at 18 we are more matured to deal with the desicion and make the correct one for ourselves :)
I know there are some young people who want this and are ready for it and care about it but i don't really x
OMAR
Commented 10 months ago - 28th June 2012 - 09:39am
IF YOU PAY TAX THAN YOU SHULD VOTE 2
JazzHands
Commented 10 months ago - 28th June 2012 - 12:48pm
Apparently Austria, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua have a voting age of 16 and as I always say; if it's good enough for Nicaragua, it's good enough for us.
Snow..
Commented 10 months ago - 2nd July 2012 - 21:08pm
It's got to be done! If you have too much going on when you're 16, then voting is optional. It disgusts me that at the age of 16 you are able to join the army and start training to fight for your country, yet you have no say on who runs it! Also who would want to pay taxes to someone they didn't have the chance to vote for? I definitely wouldn't. I know this next point will probably sound childish, but look at how much people aged 60+ get compared to young people. They have free swimming (I know we do but no where near as much as them) and free transport, I've also spoke with the older people's forum in my county and they said themselves that a lot more of the country's money is spent on them. If you were to ask me, people aged 60+ are able to vote, so if you want them to vote for you, keep them happy. The majority of young people can't vote, so simply because of that, pensioners are at an advantage. Imagine how beneficial votes at 16 would be to young people across the country.
VOTES AT 16, YAY!
By the way, I'm going to this debate Wednesday and I cannot wait :D
Sam (Sub-Editor)
Commented 10 months ago - 3rd July 2012 - 11:33am
@Snow.. Don't suppose you could write a cheeky little report about it for CLIC, could you?
Snow..
Commented 10 months ago - 4th July 2012 - 20:13pm
That's exactly what I'm doing now :p
I'm uploading it to Swoosh, I've spoken to 5 AMs about what they think, so unfortunately the report isn't going to the most exciting of things :/