Young People, Lowering the Voting Age & COVID-19
Without representation, young people are struggling to get their voices heard in the decisions that affect them. Lowering the voting age to 16 is one integral way the government can reinvigorate the interest of young people in their democracy, argues Jordan Maloney, ANU Political Science and Sociology student and policy adviser.
The decisions being made in parliamentary offices in the present affect the lives of young people, immediately and into their futures. Despite this, young people are perceived in contemporary politics and media as hopelessly disengaged in politics. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, wealthy democratic nations have the means to rollout comprehensive policy to affect sectors of society under short notice and with great efficacy. While this occurs however, other pressing global issues have been all but ignored by governments.
Young people are “subject to ‘adult’ discourses and regulations”, over which they hold no power to change. In fact, authors like Rhys Farthing argue that young people are avoiding formal politics and are instead engaging through alternative channels online and through social media. He says the stale nature of current institutions results in young people turning to these non-traditional channels of political engagement.
It is the responsibility of a government to empower the next generation to be involved in government institutions. Instead, the individualistic and neoliberal agenda of governments globally are souring the interest of young people in political institutions. This agenda is the manifestation and mainstreaming of corrupt and avoidant government policies that prioritise the will of the rich over the wellbeing of the many . In turn, Rhys Farthing describes the engagement of young people most aptly as the ‘politics of anti-politics’. Why would they engage in current political institutions when these institutions won’t engage them? Governments should be extending franchise to young people to be involved in the decisions that affect them.
Barriers are multiplied for young people facing multiple sources of marginalisation. Recent events have demonstrated once again that people from migrant and refugee backgrounds are often made to feel unwelcome in formal political environments. Despite this, a recent survey showed that young people who grew up in a household with a language other than English at home have the highest levels of civic engagement across Australian society. Similarly, young women do not see a place for themselves in the halls of parliament - by the time girls turn 18, none are considering a political careers, according to Plan International’s She Can Lead report. Voting rights is one concrete step that would enable young people to directly influence the culture and direction of their democracy.
Parties bidding for government should at least try to resolve the issues facing young people in order to achieve political engagement. In a case study on voter turnout for under 25s in the U.K, James Hart and Matt Henn found that there is a correlation between neoliberal policies and lower youth voter turnout. Specifically, they say that the fundamental tenants of neoliberalism encompassing balanced budgets, market freedom and individual responsibility, are antecedent to the policy needs of young people. Young people need financial investment into the circumstances surrounding their lives. Stagnation of wages, rising costs of education, skyrocketing rental prices and a genuine fear for the consequences of inaction on global warming, culminate in a tired and unrepresented section of the polity. The millions spent on propping up corporate industry through COVID-19 have shown that governments have the money and means to help young people, they’re just not interested.
Governments need heed this advice: lowering the voting age is necessary for the continued health of Australian democracy. Increasing suffrage to a greater section of young people will give their vote greater weight in our Australian democracy. Lowering the voting age to 16 is one integral way the government can reinvigorate the interest of young people. By adding this to the chronology of responsibilities that young people are granted through their high school years, the government can play a greater role in normalising political engagement. In doing so, the government should also give young people the appropriate supports in their education to communicate and discuss the issues they face in society. Only the people affected by inequalities can adequately convey the impact they have on their livelihoods. A middle-aged technocrat in parliament house could never do young people justice. Instead, the government needs to extend suffrage to young people so they can reflect their feelings and opinions through our democratic system. Perhaps once this is achieved, political parties will begin to take young people seriously.
All views expressed are those of the author, and not his affiliated institutions.