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Should we lower the US voting age to 16?
**New research** forthcoming in Perspectives on Psych Science where we tackle 5 common concerns about lowering the voting age.
TLDR; many concerns about changing the voting age are not supported by developmental science.
**New research** forthcoming in Perspectives on Psych Science where we tackle 5 common concerns about lowering the voting age.
TLDR; many concerns about changing the voting age are not supported by developmental science.
Several states in the US had measures to change the voting age on the ballot this past year. But these proposals rarely get traction. Why? What holds people back from reconsidering the voting age?
Our goal with this paper was to follow recommendations by @ldsteinberg & others to use dev science to inform policy about the rights and responsibilities of teens. Based on research in the early 70's when the voting age was changed to 18, we identified 5 common concerns:
#1: Do 16 and 17-Year-Olds Have the Political Knowledge to Vote?
A: Probably. Even with our bad measures of political knowledge, 16/17 yo do just as well as young adults. If you look at information processing (aligning your pol beliefs with candidates) young people do better.
A: Probably. Even with our bad measures of political knowledge, 16/17 yo do just as well as young adults. If you look at information processing (aligning your pol beliefs with candidates) young people do better.
#2: Do 16 and 17-Year-Olds Have the Cognitive Capacity to Vote?
A: Probably. This one is more complicated. By 16, adolescents' have adult-like levels of cog. functioning, but lag in socio-emotional maturity
A: Probably. This one is more complicated. By 16, adolescents' have adult-like levels of cog. functioning, but lag in socio-emotional maturity
If teens have adult-like cog. capacity and underdeveloped socio-emotional functioning, 16/17 yo may perform similar to adults in contexts that allow for unhurried logical reflection... like voting.
#3: Do 16 and 17-Year-Olds Have the Independence to Vote?
A: Does anyone have the "independence" to vote? Have you logged on to facebook in the last decade? Remember that whole Russia thing?
A: Does anyone have the "independence" to vote? Have you logged on to facebook in the last decade? Remember that whole Russia thing?
We don't have good data on this, but a recent study showed that lowering the voting age to 16 in Takoma Park did not increase within-family homogeneity in voter registration.
This means that lowering the voting age likely does not just echo parents' political ideas. What we really need to do is a mock vote and have teens report their political preference and have parents/teachers tell them to vote against their beliefs. More to come here.
#4 Do 16 and 17-Year-Olds Have the Political Interest to
Vote?
A: Yes. Tons of work showing youth are interested in politics. Think about all the social movements led by teens. But even if they weren't, should they be? They can't even vote!
Vote?
A: Yes. Tons of work showing youth are interested in politics. Think about all the social movements led by teens. But even if they weren't, should they be? They can't even vote!
There is also some good research showing that mock votes and lowering the voting age in Austria also increased political interest among 16/17 yos.
#5: Do 16 and 17-Year-Olds Have the Life Experience to
Vote?
A: What life experiences are necessary to vote? Young people have experiences/social challenges adults will never have (school shootings, education costs, climate change).
Vote?
A: What life experiences are necessary to vote? Young people have experiences/social challenges adults will never have (school shootings, education costs, climate change).
This argument is value-dependent and based on the perspective of the person making it. It is not empirical and thus doesn't lend itself to the scientific method.
So where does that leave us? "Concerns about youths’
ability to vote are generally not supported by developmental science, suggesting that negative stereotypes about teenagers may be a large barrier to changing the voting age."
ability to vote are generally not supported by developmental science, suggesting that negative stereotypes about teenagers may be a large barrier to changing the voting age."
This work was inspired by comments I received on a blog post I wrote a few years ago: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/civically-engaged/201810/should-16-and-17-year-olds-be-able-vote
A huge thanks to Laura Wray-Lake and Dan Hart for their collaboration on this paper. The article is in production, a pre-print can be found here: https://psyarxiv.com/xy7ph/
Tagging some people who follow research on adolescence: @natashaduell @NancyDarling16 @JASilvers @jennDSN @HopesPsychology @EvaZeglovits @SantosCarlosE @EvanRooney9 @lmalvis
