Lethbridge living | Page 10

living lethbridgeliving.com We asked you… At September’s Alberta Urban Municipalities Association meeting, Lethbridge City Council put forward a motion to lower the municipal voting age to 16. What do you think? Should the voting age for municipal elections be lowered to include 16 and 17 year olds? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Yes 44% No 56% You said... Yes! Because I might only be 13 but I care about what goes on here too! Earn your right to vote–pay taxes like voters do now. Young people in school are actually more educated on political elections than the rest of the public. At 17 I was a lot more involved in what went on politically due to my high school. Informed voting makes a difference. Will increase voter turnout. These people are already trusted behind the wheel, we should engage them in the voting process. I think that it would encourage more interest in the election and politics in general. Also it might be a completely different view on political stuff. 16–17 year olds are at a stage in life where all the big decisions are about to come up, and municipal decisions made will have a huge impact on what sort of options they'll have. If we want youth to succeed we should allow them to help build a community that sets them up for success. Of course not. A 16 year old cannot be bound by a contract, cannot sue or be sued, because they are not considered the age of majority. They are considered too young, too impressionable to make reasoned decisions. If someone cannot cont