Vote16: No silver bullet

The recent announcement that the United Kingdom will lower the voting age to 16 for the next general election has sparked important discussions about whether other Western democracies, including Canada, should follow suit. 

We should. Full stop. I won’t belabour the benefits of lowering the voting age, but it’s an important measure to enfranchise a group often left out of politics and who are among the most affected by it. Youth in Canada work, pay taxes, and contribute to society in countless other ways, including volunteering and community development, and care deeply about the issues that matter to them. Paired with the fact that, despite all of this, youth aged 18 and up currently vote at rates far lower than Canadians of older generations, it is increasingly evident we need to do more to incorporate young Canadians into formal politics. 

Now there are, of course, those who argue the opposite. In a recent article, Journalist Andrew Coyne contended that international trends suggest Canada should raise, not lower the voting age. Many still lament that allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote will negatively interfere with the quality and integrity of our elections, despite clear evidence proving this false.

So yes, we should lower the voting age….  but. This is not a lesson in why we should; it’s a lesson in why it is not a silver bullet, and it is a mistake to assume that. 

Lowering the voting age is sexy (at least as sexy as democracy policy can get), which makes it central in debates on how we can increase youth participation in politics. But doing so without providing youth a reason to vote and the skills necessary to do it will keep us on the same path: decreasing voter turnout and less trust in our democracy among youth. If 18-35 year olds are eligible to vote but continue to choose not to do so, what’s to be any different should we open up voting to another age group? It’s an easy solution to a complicated problem. 

In fact, I agree with Andrew on a couple of points. He notes the prominence of misinformation and disinformation on social media, which predominantly targets youth. There’s no doubt this is true, and a major concern for youths' democratic education. If misinformation is a plague on our democracy, why should we settle for “oh well” as opposed to fixing it head-on? It’s not like there are no policy remedies for it, civics education and targeted advertising from officials among them. Additionally, one of the strongest precursors of misinformation is political polarization, something our political parties have a direct role in stopping or inflaming. 

Andrew’s argument that youth are increasingly separated from the responsibilities that would necessitate voting, including home ownership and employment, has merit. Many youth have trouble entering the job market; they are forced to live with their parents longer due to rising costs of housing, and the increasing price of higher education discourages upward mobility.

But if that is true, does that not mean youth are more disadvantaged politically than their older counterparts? Does that not mean they are intimately connected to the issues affecting them, and as a result, should probably have a say in how they are handled? Coupled with the fact that there are a number of policies youth are far more concerned about than older generations, including climate change and postsecondary education, excluding youth further and pushing them out of the solutions to the issues they inherited can't be the solution. 

Taking the easy route and lowering the voting age on its own to solve this would be a major mistake for Canada. Instead, by combining this measure with tangible actions that encourage youth to exercise this right, Canada can become a democratic leader among Western nations.

Doing so means getting serious about policies that matter to our youth. It means speaking to them in ways they both understand and resonate with, and tackling the root problems of declining youth voter turnout. 

Ever heard the saying “you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink?” Well, by lowering the voting age, Canada can lead youth to the polls, but without real incentivization measures, it can’t make them vote.