Get them early, advocates urge

Young not developing sense of civics High schools can play an essential role

They are old enough to drive a car, to join the army reserves, to work and pay taxes. But should 16- year- olds be allowed to vote? Mark Holland thinks so. “We tell young people that they have to be responsible and they need to participate,” said Holland, 31, the Liberal incumbent for Ajax- Pickering and a long- time advocate for lowering the voting age from 18. “ But on the other hand we tell them they are too stupid to participate in the electoral process. It just doesn’t send the right message if we are trying to engage young people in civics.”

Holland and others say if youth start voting when they’re in school, there’s a better chance they will remain civically engaged for life. And early research in Germany shows the theory has some promise. As a Liberal backbencher in 2004, Holland introduced a private member’s bill calling on the government to change the federal Elections Act to lower the voting age to 16. Although the bill was defeated in a parliamentary vote last June, Holland says this election is the time to raise the issue again.

“ I’ve been going into a number of schools and I’ve been continuing to advocate for this,” he said. “ And I’ll tell you there is tremendous interest ( in lowering the age) among young people who don’t feel attached to the political process now.” Young people interviewed by the Toronto Star yesterday also echoed this sentiment.

“ It’s not fair just to give it to 18year- olds,” said Taslima Aktar, 17, a student at St. Patrick’s Catholic Secondary School in Toronto. “ Some are mature enough at 16. Even if you’re 16, for some crimes you do, you can be tried as an adult. If you’re going to get punished as an adult, we should be given the rights of an adult.”

Voter turnout in Canada has been dropping steadily from 75 per cent in 1988 to 61 per cent in 2004. Researchers attribute the drop to younger Canadians who aren’t showing up at the polls in the same numbers as their par-

ents. In short, they aren’t developing the habit.

In 2000, just 25 per cent of eligible voters 18 to 25 cast a ballot. The turnout was somewhat higher in 2004 at 38 per cent, but it’s still far below the 75 per cent voting rate of older Canadians. The fear is that as young voters age, they will continue to abstain from voting and the lack of interest will have a chilling effect on our democracy.

Britain and the United States have been debating lowering the voting age to 16 for several years. In Europe, several countries are considering it. Six of Germany’s 16 states have lowered the voting age for local elections to 16.

Voter turnout levels for 16- to 18- yearolds in three German states show a slightly below average participation rate. But turnout for this group was about 5 to 8 per cent higher than for voters 21 to 30, according to a 2003 Elections Canada report. The German research shows that if the trend continues for these young people, they will vote in greater numbers when they age. MP Mauril Bélanger, the Liberals’ former minister for democratic renewal, said he’s not convinced lowering the voting age will increase participation. He noted that when the voting age in Canada was dropped in 1970 from 21 to 18, participation rates showed a very slight rise and have dropped ever since.

Holland believes the best way to reverse this trend is to reach young people in school through civics classes and hook them on voting by giving them a real voice at the ballot box.

“ Once they leave school, there is no longer a formal forum for them to talk about politics,” he said. “And they haven’t had the voting experience to draw on when they leave home to go to university or jobs.” He encourages anyone who needs convincing on this to visit his website on the issue at www. vote16. ca. Dave Steep, head of the history department at Aurora High School, uses elections as a major teaching tool, and recently invited Prime Minister Paul Martin and Liberal MP Belinda Stronach to his school to answer questions. He was impressed with the interest among students and can see the benefits of extending the vote to 16- and 17year- olds. Although he’s not sure all 16year- olds are mature enough, he doesn’t think all 18- year- olds are mature enough, either.

“ I think it’s definitely worth exploring,” he said yesterday. “ It might inculcate a greater sense of civic responsibility. We require them to complete 40 hours of volunteer service before they graduate. Perhaps allowing them to vote would give them a limited sense of what it means to be a citizen.” A report on local civic engagement by the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto last March recommended the voting age in municipal elections be lowered to 16. Amanuel Melles, co- chair of the panel that compiled the Inclusive Cities report after a year of focus groups, said lowering the voting age would engage people in the democratic process at a younger age. If a 16- year- old is learning about how to vote at school, it might help immigrant parents understand the system and encourage them to go to the polls, he said. The Toronto Youth Cabinet, which advises city council on issues affecting young people, also backs voting at 16.

Tiffanie Chattergoon, who just turned 17, says young people are becoming politically active at a younger age and should be given the privilege of voting, if they wish. But she’s worried that if few 16- and 17- year- olds exercised their suffrage, it might reflect badly on those like her who are civically engaged.

“ I think it’s important, but there are risks,” she said, adding the risks are worth taking. A1991 Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing looked into the possibility of lowering the voter age to 16. It was concerned that 18 could be viewed as an arbitrary age limit that violates the Charter of Rights guarantee of the right to vote and protection against age discrimination.

Despite studies at the time that showed lowering the voting age would not appreciably affect election results, the commission concluded Canadians were not ready for the change. It recommended that Parliament revisit the issue periodically.

Elections Canada, working to boost participation rates, is not promoting such a change, but chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley has said there’s merit in considering the idea.