Yes to guns, no to voting
It’s a very strange world in which a teenager can handle a deadly weapon yet isn’t deemed mature enough to cast a vote. I’m not sure how ticking a box carries more responsibility than toting a gun, but in New Zealand that’s the case; a 16-year-old doesn’t get to have a say in who controls the country but can apply for a firearms licence.
The same 16-year-old can also decide to have consensual sex; leave home permanently; and get a passport without parental consent. Confused? Same.
Because despite the undeniably adult choices teenagers are currently allowed to make, they’re still denied the rather simple act of voting in local or national elections. That’s something best left to the grownups, so you kids hush now and let your elders and betters get on with it.
Those opposed to lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 say teenagers lack the nous and life experience needed to have a say about who’s in power. Not only that but young folks are easily influenced by the adults they’re dependent on, which leaves them open to coercion, as if ‘‘You’re not going anywhere until I see two ticks for Labour’’ could become a threat in homes around the country next year.
So yes, 16-year-olds can choose to leave school and yes, they’re grown up enough to drive a car. They can also get married and independently refuse or agree to medical treatment.
By the way, they’ve been allowed to babysit since they were 14, but apparently when it comes to picking a government representative they’re just too immature. Legally change your name? Yeah, go for it. Change the government? Absolutely not, now go to bed.
The voting age has long been one of those issues that regularly pops up to cause a bit of discord in Aotearoa and recently those pesky kids have been at it again.
Somewhere along the line some adult must have taught them about legal things because a group of minors have been in court not only demanding their rights but then appealing against the court’s refusal to grant them. The audacity of it all.
Those teens say the current voting rule is age discrimination and breaches the Bill of Rights; those in power stop short of saying ‘‘Shush, you’re just overtired and being silly’’ but that’s the message and apparently something most other adults agree with.
Polls on the issue have tended to show most New Zealanders are happy with the status quo. A 2020 one found only 13% of respondents were in favour of lowering the age while 85% were opposed. The rest said they didn’t know.
I couldn’t find how many teenagers were included in the survey but asking the already enfranchised whether they want to share their rights is a surefire way of preventing just that. Poll the disenfranchised and we might get a more realistic result.
The Government has announced a review of several aspects of electoral law, including the voting age, due to be completed by 2026. A change in the voting age needs a 75% of majority of MPs, or more than 50% of votes in a national poll, presumably by voters over 18. There’s little political interest in shaking things up and the problem with a referendum is glaringly obvious.
Ultimately there is absolutely no reason the voting age shouldn’t be lowered. Young New Zealanders are not only switched on enough to vote, they’re already making some of the most important decisions of their lives.
Let them vote. There’s nothing to be scared of; they’re just kids after all.