Yet, our electoral system sidelines them until age 18, a threshold that feels increasingly arbitrary. We should reduce the voting age to 16, and empower 16 and 17-year-olds to participate in decisions that will shape their lives. Stakes differ, yet cognitive studies, the processes by which people learn to think, solve problems, and reason, affirm adolescents reach logical peaks by age 16, suggesting the gap until age 18 is overstated. The Children Act 2022 sets criminal responsibility at 12 years, with full liability by age 16. Lowering to age 16 is democracy’s evolution, reflecting our young society.
