De Jong wants voting age lowered to 16

          In a surprise campaign platform announced Wednesday, BC Liberal leadership candidate Mike De Jong made a promise that he would give 16 year old individuals the privilege to vote if he is elected the next premier. De Jong believes lowering the voting age in British Columbia from 18 to 16 will help fight the trend of declining voter participation in the province. I agree with what De Jong is saying, he has a valid point and I truly do believe it is a great idea to combat against the trend of declining voter participation in the province. De Jong says, “Young people can drive at 16, they can enter the military and be raised to adult court, we give them these responsibilities so why not take the next logical step and let them be full participants?” I fully support what he is saying; he is trying to make youth in their later years be more involved with their community and show more interest, If he manages to get this done I do believe it will benefit our community giving it a stronger, more united future. Unfortunately in my opinion most teens at the age of 16 are not ready to vote. The minds of teenagers are still developing, and it can often be hard for them to pick what’s right and wrong for their communities, as teenagers they might make decisions on things that more so benefit themselves rather than the state of their communities. I admire De Jong’s intentions and how he is trying to get the youth more involved with their communities; sadly I think it isn’t such a good idea to give teens such responsibilities as they are not mature enough to handle them.

Story found on: http://www.ctv.ca/

Author: ctvbc.ca

Link to story: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101215/bc_voting_age_101215/20101215?hub=BritishColumbiaHome