Do 16-year-olds have the brains to warrant a vote? Two councilors say no

“I’ll be voting against it because I don’t think their brain is developed enough to make big decisions like this.”

The prospect of lowering the voting age to 16 has sparked some debate around the Invercargill City Council table.

A couple of Invercargill city councillors have suggested 16 and 17-year-olds brains simply are not developed enough to warrant lowering the voting age.

In November last year the Supreme Court released a decision that made a Declaration of Inconsistency against the Government relating to retaining the voting age for all elections at 18.

As part of the Government’s response the initial plan was to introduce legislation to Parliament that would lower the voting age to 16.

However, to change the voting age for National Elections the Bill would need a super majority of 75% of all Members.

However, to make the change to the Local Elections Act 2001 it only requires an ordinary 50% majority.

In August the Minister for Local Government introduced a Bill, which will lower the voting age for Local Elections to 16.

On Tuesday the Invercargill City Council worked through whether it would put a submission in on the matter.

It eventually voted in favour of submitting but with a neutral stance.

Crs Ian Pottinger, Barry Stewart, Peter Kett, and Alan Arnold all spoke passionately about their opposition to any reduction to the current voting age of 18.

Arnold went as far as saying if there was going to be any change it should be a rise in the voting age, not a reduction.

Pottinger stated the court system showed some leniency to 16 and 17-year-olds because the prefrontal cortex in their brains was not developed, and in turn, their decision-making processes had not developed.

“The voting age should not be dropped for those very reasons,” Pottinger said.

Stewart said Pottinger had “hit it on the nail”.

“I’ll be voting against it because I don’t think their brain is developed enough to make big decisions like this.”

Although Cr Darren Ludlow, who was chairing the meeting, pushed back at those comments.

“I think to say that the young person wouldn’t think as much about how they cast their vote as an adult is fraught.

“Because if the commentary I see on social media is anything to go by there are a whole lot of adults that don’t do a lot of thinking either,” Ludlow said.

Deputy Mayor Tom Campbell said the voting age was lowered to 16 in his home country Scotland in 2015 and the world did not end.

However, he said what happened in Scotland was that civics education was introduced in 2006 which helped youngsters prepare before they got to the voting age.

“I don’t personally favour lowering the voting age now, but I would do if we had taught civics in school.”

Campbell’s call for civics education received plenty of support.

When it came to deciding whether to put a submission forward it was agreed the point of civics education should be part of it.

Cr Steve Broad said he was previously a “hard no” to lowering the voting age. However, that opinion changed throughout the council by-election which he won.

He said at a particular youth meeting they articulated themselves the best out of any of the public meetings and asked some really powerful questions.

Cr Alex Crackett also spoke in favour of lowering the voting age to 16.

“They get a part-time job and go and pay tax the same way that anybody else does. They purchase goods, they pay GST.

“We haven’t listened to them, but we will take their money.”