Old Enough to Vote?

1In Israel, a teenager can get a driving license at seventeen, pay taxes on the money earned at a summer job and, at eighteen, serve in the army. Yet decisions about the country's schools, roads and future are made in elections in which no one under eighteen may vote. A growing number of countries are asking whether this line is drawn in the right place. I believe it is time for Israel to ask the same question, and to lower the voting age to sixteen.

2The most common argument against this idea is that sixteen-year-olds are not mature enough. They know too little about politics, critics say, and will simply copy their parents or follow whatever is popular on social media. These concerns deserve to be taken seriously, but the evidence does not fully support them. Austria lowered its voting age to sixteen for national elections in 2007, and researchers who studied the results found that the youngest voters were generally no worse than older first-time voters at choosing parties that matched their own views.

3There is also an argument about habits. Voting, like many behaviors, is something people learn. A sixteen-year-old usually still lives at home and attends school, where civics classes can explain how elections work and teachers can encourage discussion. By contrast, many young Israelis reach their first election during military service or while traveling abroad, when voting is far from their minds. Studies suggest that people who vote in the first election they are eligible for are more likely to keep voting for the rest of their lives. Giving them that first chance earlier, in a supportive setting, could build a lifelong habit.

4Most importantly, young people have a strong interest in long-term decisions. Policies on climate, housing and education will shape the world that today's teenagers inherit, long after many current voters are gone. It seems unfair that those who will live with the consequences longest have no voice in choosing the people who make them.

5Of course, lowering the voting age alone will not solve every problem. It would need to be accompanied by better civics education and by politicians who take young voters seriously rather than treating them as an audience for slogans. And some teenagers, like some adults, will not bother to vote at all.

6But democracy has always grown by including people who were once considered unready, from citizens without property to women. Each time, the fears turned out to be exaggerated. Trusting sixteen-year-olds with the vote would not be a risky experiment. It would be a recognition that they are already citizens with something to say.