By Mira Blakely

The voting age is something we donB次元官网网址檛 question and yet at 16 you can drive, you can get a job, you can pay taxes, and you can move out.

So should you be able to vote?

At the moment voting (in British Columbia) is a right for everyone 18 and over, but recently many politicians such as B.C. Green party leader Andrew Weaver (Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA) have said they support lowering the voting age to 16.

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Weaver has submitted bills to lower the voting age to 16 twice.

B次元官网网址淵oung British Columbians have the greatest stake in the future of our province,B次元官网网址� Weaver said. B次元官网网址淭hey should have a say in the decisions our politicians make. Research shows that the cognitive skills required to make calm, logically informed decisions are firmly in place by age 16.B次元官网网址�

As you may have seen, the referendum for Proportional Representation (PR) lost. Sixty-one percent of voters wanted to keep first past the post but only 42 per cent of registered voters voted in the referendum.

This is not the first time a referendum on PR has been held; in 2005, the result was 57 per cent for PR (it had to be 60 per cent for it to pass then) and in 2009 it was 60 per cent against PR. Clearly many people do want some kind of voter reform and if itB次元官网网址檚 not through PR why not lower the voting age to give more people a voice in our democracy?

One of the biggest arguments against the possibility of lowering the voting age is that at 16 you donB次元官网网址檛 know enough or donB次元官网网址檛 care about politics.

But one of the reasons some 16- and 17-year-olds donB次元官网网址檛 care about politics is because they canB次元官网网址檛 vote and they donB次元官网网址檛 feel like they get a voice.

Young people are very underestimated. For example, after the Parkland shooting, the students rose up and created the biggest youth-led movement since the Vietnam war to advocate for gun control. Most of those involved were under 18. They have made serious change in the U.S for. gun reform and also inspired so many to make change themselves.

Green party MLA Sonia Furstenau also supports lowering the voting age. She says B次元官网网址淚t works B次元官网网址� the younger you vote in your first election the more likely you are to vote for the rest of your life. But it works the other way too B次元官网网址� if you donB次元官网网址檛 vote in your first election it becomes easier to not vote.B次元官网网址�

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Many countries including Scotland, Austria, Argentina, Ecuador, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Brazil have a voting age of 16. In all of these countries, overall voter turnout increased among young people, which is something B.C. needs very much, considering that in the 2017 provincial election only 56 per cent of registered voters between 18-25 voted. In Austria, voter turnout among 18-25 year-olds averages 79 per cent and in Scotland, itB次元官网网址檚 75 per cent.

Lowering the voting age isnB次元官网网址檛 the only way to increase voter turnout but itB次元官网网址檚 been one of the most effective and gives youth more of a say. However other methods that have been suggested by Minister of Finance Carole James also could work quite well.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been shown if people are registered to vote they are more likely to vote,B次元官网网址� James said.

JamesB次元官网网址� idea was to register everyone when they are 16 so when they turn 18 they donB次元官网网址檛 have to worry about it and they would receive a voter card. Education Minister Rob Fleming (Victoria-Swan Lake) also supported registering young people and getting them involved in politics.

However, he didnB次元官网网址檛 seem to think now is the right time to lower the voting age.

B次元官网网址淚 would worry if we just lower the voting age to 16 we would see fewer young people will vote but certainly itB次元官网网址檚 not something IB次元官网网址檓 against in principle. I just think right now our job is to focus on getting 18 to 25-year-olds to vote.

It was the NDP who lowered the voting age in 1992 from 19 and they lowered it to the current age of 18.

B.C. Liberal party leader Andrew Wilkinson didnB次元官网网址檛 give any suggestions for increasing voter turnout but he did have much to say on the possibility of lowering the voting age.

B次元官网网址淎 change to the voting age deserves serious attention. ItB次元官网网址檚 something the B.C. Liberals would be happy to consider if we form government again.B次元官网网址�

This is great, however, the Liberals were in power from 2001 until 2017 (16 years). In this time they never once considered lowering the voting age.

Premier John Horgan said the NDP are working with the Green party regarding lowering the voting age.

B次元官网网址淚f itB次元官网网址檚 the will of the people. We will be looking into the voting age in the new year.B次元官网网址�

There are many arguments for and against. Just remember, 16-year-olds are smarter than you think and they deserve a say in what happens to all of us.

If you support lowering the voting age to 16 in B.C., .

Also a quick thank you to Sonia Furstenau, Carole James and Rob Fleming for speaking to me. Andrew Wilkinson for emailing with me and to Andrew Weaver for sending me a link that was very helpful. Also to Premer John Horgan for answering my question about the voting age.

- Mira Blakely is a Grade 9 student at Reynolds secondary school.