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This is going to be a slightly controversial and slightly biased opinion piece given my age, how many youth organisations I am involved in, but I am a huge supporter of the 'Vote at 16' Campaign. This is due to many different reasons ranging from personal opinions to hard drawn facts. I will be discussing both in detail in this article.
If you think about this logically a younger voting age makes perfect sense. Young people should be given the choice to make the decisions that will directly impact their future as it is going to affect them longer than older ones. Voting in things like Referendums, Local, National and European Elections will help young people shape the future to what it needs to be rather than what adults think is best for us.
The next reason I have for it to be passed is that other countries have done it to great success. Countries like; Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Scotland, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Jersey and the Isle of Guernsey have all lowered their voting age to 16. Other countries have changed their voting restrictions to allow anyone between the ages of 16 to 18 in some form of employment are allowed to vote. Both if introduced would be welcome changes but the former would obviously be preferred to the latter. There is also proof that this being introduced is incredibly successful as it had one of the highest turnout percentages then from other age categories. This shows that young people do have a greater interest in voting then is actually thought.
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Also, there is a greater sense of maturity because of the different opportunities given to young people at present in Ireland. Organisations such as NYCI, Foróige, Young Voices, Comhairle na nÓg, SpunOut.ie and many more provide amazing programs for young people. These include programs like Foróige's 'Leadership For Life' Conference & Youth Citizenship awards, NCYI/Young Voices' UN & EU Youth Delegate Programme and SpunOut.ie's Action Panel which all teach young people skills such as
Leadership
Team Work
Public Speaking
Communication
Ability to work under pressure
Decision Making
Time Management
Self-motivation
Conflict resolution
Adaptability,
and Creativity which helps to mature them a lot quicker.
I will leave you with this quote I found will researching this article:
" No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent." - Abraham Lincoln
-Cathal Finney, lead writer
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