Voting at 16
Turnout and the quality of vote choice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4170058 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Markus Wagner (0000-0002-0036-1266, University of Vienna), David Johann (0000-0002-8970-9686, University of Vienna), Sylvia Kritzinger (0000-0003-2765-8200, University of Vienna) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 372-383 |
| Publication date | 2012-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Electoral Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-3794 • E-ISSN: 1873-6890 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.electstud.2012.01.007 |
| PMID | 24850994 |
| PMCID | PMC4020373 |
| OpenAlex | W2097443284 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 66 |
| References cited | 38 |
Critics of giving citizens under 18 the right to vote argue that such teenagers lack the ability and motivation to participate effectively in elections. If this argument is true, lowering the voting age would have negative consequences for the quality of democracy. We test the argument using survey data from Austria, the only European country with a voting age of 16 in nation-wide elections. While the turnout levels of young people under 18 are relatively low, their failure to vote cannot be explained by a lower ability or motivation to participate. In addition, the quality of these citizens' choices is similar to that of older voters, so they do cast votes in ways that enable their interests to be represented equally well. These results are encouraging for supporters of a lower voting age
Argument (complex analysis · Democracy · Demographic economics · Economics · Group voting ticket · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Quality (philosophy · Spoilt vote · Test (biology · Turnout · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Medicine · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Lowering the voting age isn’t enough
Undi 18
Identity, crimes, and law enforcement in the Metaverse
Barriers to youth political participation
El derecho al voto infantil
Reconsidering the Minimum Voting Age in the United States
To advise and scrutinize the government? Two types of political knowledge, political trust and unconventional participation
School spending and extension of the youth voting franchise
Empowering the next generation
Debating the Voting Age
Justice, Symmetry, and Voting Rights Ceilings
What Affects Voter Turnout? A Review Article/Meta-Analysis of Aggregate Research
Activating effects of elections
Young Rebels Who Do Not Want a Revolution
The impact of cultural representation of youth on political representation
Voting rights and intergenerational justice
The Trap of Incrementalism in Recognising Children’s Right to Vote
Different Class Citizens
Is child disenfranchisement justified
Public opinion, political partisanship and the Votes-at-16 debate in the United Kingdom
Political interest, recognition and acceptance of voting responsibility, and electoral participation
Dealigned but mobilized? Insights from a citizen science study on youth political engagement
Cajoling or coercing
Mobilisation through early activation and school engagement – the story from Scotland
The Development of Stable Party Preferences
The Formation of Party Preference in Adolescence and Early Adulthood
I didn't have a clue what we were doing’
Adolescent voting competence
Adolescents provide more complex reasons for lowering the voting age than do adults
Specific political knowledge and citizens’ participation
Great minds think alike? Ideological congruence between party members and leadership candidates
Political congruence between adolescence and their parents
Generational (re)alignment
What’s Left of the Left–Right Dimension? Why the Economic Policy Positions of Europeans Do Not Fit the Left–Right Dimension
The effect of European Parliament elections on political socialisation
Intergenerational Blame Attribution and Political Ageism among Young Europeans
Regional variation in voter turnout in Europe
The relationship between age and turnout
How has Radical Right Support Transformed Established Political Conflicts? The Case of Austria
El Derecho a Sufragio De Los Menores De Edad
Why the voting age should be lowered to 16
Voting at 16
The Political Maturity of Youths and Young Adults
Does National Voting Experience During High School Form a Voting Habit? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in South Korea
The Intergenerational Transmission of Party Preferences in Multiparty Contexts
Voting at 16? 16–17‐Year‐Old Germans Vote as Correctly as Adults
Longitudinal co‐occurrence of adolescent mental health difficulties and democratic citizenship in early adulthood
Lowering the Voting Age to 16 in Practice
Should 16-Year-Olds Be Allowed to Vote in Westminster Elections? Public Opinion and Electoral Franchise Reform
Public Support for Votes at 16 in the UK
Votes At 16
Franchise extensions and second-order contests
Lowering the Quality of Democracy by Lowering the Voting Age? Comparing the Impact of School, Classmates, and Parents on 15- to 18-Year-Olds’ Political Interest and Turnout
Too Immature to Have a Sense of Duty? Civic Duty in Youths Aged 16 and 17
Lowering the Voting Age to 16? A Comparative Study on the Political Competence and Engagement of Underage and Adult Youth
Do reluctant voters vote less accurately? The effect of compulsory voting on party–voter congruence in Australia and Belgium
Rising to the Occasion? Youth Political Knowledge and the Voting Age
Unsettled in the starting blocks
The link between social attitudes and voting propensities
Spatial and valence models of voting
Coming of voting age. Evidence from a natural experiment on the effects of electoral eligibility
Revisiting eligibility effects of voting at 16
Are 16-year-olds able to cast a congruent vote? Evidence from a "voting at 16" initiative in the city of Ghent (Belgium)
Does voting rights affect the political maturity of 16- and 17-year-olds? Findings from the 2011 Norwegian voting-age trial
Voting at 16
Temporary Disenfranchisement
Citizens and the State
The European Voter
Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945
Governing in Europe
Is Voting for Young People
Continuities in Political Action
A Generation Apart? Youth and Political Participation in Britain
Accounting for the Age Gap in Turnout
Generational Basis of Turnout Decline in Established Democracies
Are adolescents less mature than adults
Something about young people or something about elections? Electoral participation of young people in Europe
Social Desirability and Response Validity
Tuning out or left out? Participation and non-participation among young people
An Exploration of Correct Voting in Recent U.S. Presidential Elections
Overreporting Voting
Uninterested Youth? Young People's Attitudes towards Party Politics in Britain
Should the Voting Age be Lowered to Sixteen? Normative and Empirical Considerations
Reliability and validity of the 2002 and 2006 Chapel Hill expert surveys on party positioning
Where does turnout decline come from
Values and partisanship in left‐right orientations
Explaining the salience of left–right ideology in postindustrial democracies
Media malaise or a virtuous circle? Exploring the causal relationships between news media exposure, political news attention and political interest
Explaining The Gender Gap in Support for the New Right
The First Seven Years of the Political Life Cycle
Political Interest, Cognitive Ability and Personality
American Sixteen- and Seventeen-Year-Olds Are Ready to Vote
Introduction
Ideological dimensions and vote choice
Voting at 16
Voting Correctly
Becoming a Habitual Voter
| Unique citing works | 66 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,71 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2026 (15) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 66 |