Around the world, it seems that almost every country bars people under 18 from voting. The reasons vary. The most strong arguments are that those young people are not informed and educated enough, they don’t pay taxes yet, and they can’t serve in the military yet.
However, surprisingly there has been a trend toward lowering the voting age. Why so? Some countries or states acknowledge that despite the age, they are ready to express their concerns such as climate change and the better future depends on them. Also, the inclusion of young citizens in politics will foster greater political participation and increase trust in democracy.
Countries whose legal voting age is 16: Nicaragua, Scotland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, and Austria.
Countries whose legal voting age is 17: Sudan, South Sudan, North Korea, Indonesia, Greece, and East Timor.
The legal voting age for most countries is 18. Over one hundred nations are in this category: Afghanistan, China, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Comoros, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Lebanon, Marshall Islands, Macedonia, Mauritania, Kenya, Mongolia, Philippines, Saint Helena, Tanzania, US, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Japan, Italy among many others.
South Korea, my home country, is the only nation in which the legal voting age for the citizens is 19 years.
It is interesting to see that some authoritarian countries like North Korea ad China have expanded voting rights for the youth.
Also, I would like to raise two questions for all of you. 1) Related to the last class, do you think that the inclusion of the youth will increase trust or faith in one’s government? 2) What age would be appropriate for voting?
* The voting age refers to the minimum legal age set by the law at which a person is allowed to engage in casting their vote on a public election day. This age is usually stated in a country’s constitution as the legal voting age.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/9/10/20835327/voting-age-youth-rights-kids-vote
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/legal-voting-age-by-country.html