Voter suppression: UK Voter ID

[Seeker_UK]

The problem with the 16-18 age group legally is that it's a kind of no man's land between childhood and adulthood. Contracts are not enforceable on under 18s, but at 16 you can get married, work a full time and pay income tax, join the army.

Some of that is no longer strcitly true.

The minimum legal age for marriage in the UK is now 18 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...ge-and-civil-partnership-minimum-age-act-2022).
It is illegal to leave full time education before you are 18 (https://thinkstudent.co.uk/what-happens-if-you-leave-education-before-18) although you can enter an apprenticeship, which is what happens to under 18s in the armed forces.

18 now seems to be the direction of travel for the legal age for adulthood and true autonomy.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Any particular reason why voting should be restricted to adults?

 

[Seeker_UK]

Any particular reason why voting should be restricted to adults?

Unless you want to set standards for peoples competence to vote, and assess it, age is useful proxy. Whether that age should be 16, 18 or 25 (when a human brain is fully developed), I really dunno.

 

[gintonic]

make the voting age 13

 

[Tony L]

make the voting age 13

I’d not have an issue with that at all. Maybe weighted as a half-vote until 15.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Unless you want to set standards for peoples competence to vote, and assess it, age is useful proxy. Whether that age should be 16, 18 or 25 (when a human brain is fully developed), I really dunno.

Yes, this was my initial thinking too. But we no longer prevent women, or the working man from voting on the basis that they can't be trusted to know their own mind. Adults with learning difficulties are legally eligible to vote, so why not children? Or, if not children, then perhaps young people approaching adulthood? A 14 or 15 year old has a greater stake in the future than an 85 year old, but only one of them can have a say in the future direction of the country. Most human rights are not age-dependent, and many 14 year olds are mature enough to make reasonable decisions in the polling booth; even if not all of them are, you could say much the same about old people.

 

[gintonic]

I’d not have an issue with that at all. Maybe weighted as a half-vote until 15.

maybe anyone over 60 counts as half a vote, 70 0.25 - over 80s banned from voting....

 

[Somafunk]

It is illegal to leave full time education before you are 18

You sure about that as a mate has his 16yr old working with him on his creel boat,

 

[Tony L]

maybe anyone over 60 counts as half a vote, 70 0.25 - over 80s banned from voting....

I’ve heard those arguments in some quarters and I don’t agree with them. I believe everyone should be allowed to vote.

To put it another way I don’t think anyone should be expected to pay tax, allowed to join the military etc unless they’ve had the opportunity to cast at least one vote. In a five year election cycle that obviously means allowing the vote five years before whatever that age is defined at to ensure the opportunity was presented to everyone. No taxation without representation etc.

 

[Seeker_UK]

You sure about that as a mate has his 16yr old working with him on his creel boat,

Good point - I think there are different arrangements in Scotland.

 

[Nero]

maybe anyone over 60 counts as half a vote, 70 0.25 - over 80s banned from voting....

So how are we to complain about anything when we get to 80?

Well, I suppose there’s always the weather, and the EU. Oh b@llocks.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

We shake our walking sticks in time honoured fashion. Or complain on here, obvs.

 

[Somafunk]

So how are we to complain about anything when we get to 80?

In the new neo-con led governments the max age allowed will be 68, all people above this age will be reassigned to agricultural use (ground up fertiliser)

 

[Tony L]

Pathetic Torywash of the Rees Mogg story here from the BBC. No more or less than I’d expect sadly.

 

[Bob McC]

maybe anyone over 60 counts as half a vote, 70 0.25 - over 80s banned from voting....

I’d ban anyone who owned a Matt finish car from voting on the grounds of a complete lack of judgement…

 

[Tony L]

A great clip of Emily Maitlis and John Sopel reacting in disbelief to Rees Mogg admitting the Tories were trying to (further) rig the electoral system (Twitter). Has the Rees Mogg clip too.

 

[tiggers]

Unless you want to set standards for peoples competence to vote

Yes please, 10 questions at the top of each ballot paper related to the election in question. Less than 100% correct and your vote does not count. Weed out the stupid

 

[paulfromcamden]

Yes please, 10 questions at the top of each ballot paper related to the election in question. Less than 100% correct and your vote does not count. Weed out the stupid

I fully support this on the condition that the questions all relate to jazz trivia.

 

[Nero]

I’d ban anyone who supports the Tories from voting on the grounds of a complete lack of judgement…

FIFY

 

[sean99]

Unless you want to set standards for peoples competence to vote, and assess it, age is useful proxy. Whether that age should be 16, 18 or 25 (when a human brain is fully developed), I really dunno.

Brexit suggests there should also be an older cutoff for people who've gone a bit Alf Garnett.