[denphone]

Originally Posted by Damien

I think the voting age should be lowered to 16. I don't think the arguments about their lack of knowledge are convincing because we don't apply a mental capacity test before people are entitled to vote. People at 18 don't become suddenly able to make an informed judgment and neither are all adults making an 'informed' decision. People vote for all sorts of reasons and it's a bad path to go down for others to decide if those reasons are valid or not.

They are deemed wise enough to be tried as an adult for crimes, to join (if not fight) the army and to pay taxes. If we think they are able to make these decisions for themselves and to pay for the services the government provides then they should be able to vote.

In the end voting is a right, not a privilege, and so you need a very good reason to deny people that right.

The post of the last few weeks need l say more..