Voting age
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | In law, the term '''minor''' (also '''infant''' or '''infancy''') is used to refer to a person who is under the age in which one legally assumes [[adulthood]] and is legally granted rights afforded to adults in society. Depending on the jurisdiction and application, this age may vary, but is usually marked at either 18 or 21. Specifically, the status of "minor" is defined by the [[age of majority]]. | + | A '''voting age''' is a [[minimum age]] established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election. |
| + | The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary capacity to independently decide how to cast a vote. The voting age is often of such importance that it is set by means of a [[constitution]]al provision. | ||
| - | In many countries, including [[Croatia]], [[India]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], [[Canada]] and [[New Zealand]], a '''minor''' is presently defined as a person under the age of 18. In the [[United States]], where the [[age of majority]] is set by the individual states, 'minor' usually refers to someone under the age of 18, but can be used in certain areas to define someone under the age of 21. | + | At the present time the voting age across the world is typically 18. When the [[suffrage|right to vote]] was first accorded in [[democracy|democracies]] the voting age was generally set at 21, or in some cases at an even higher level. In the 1970s widespread reform led to a reduction to 18 in a large number of countries. Debate is currently underway in many places on proposals to reduce the voting age below 18. In May 2009, Danish Member of Parliament Mogens Jensen presented an initiative to the [[Parliamentary Assembly]] of the [[Council of Europe]] in [[Strasbourg]] to lower the voting age in Europe to 16 (see http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11895.pdf ). |
| - | In the [[criminal justice]] system in some places, the term "minor" is not entirely synonymous, as a minor may be [[trial (law)|tried]] for a [[crime]] (and punished) as a juvenile or an adult (usually only for extremely serious crimes such as murder). | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[Adultism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Age of consent]] | + | *[[Age of candidacy]] |
| - | * [[Age of criminal responsibility]] | + | *[[Suffrage]] |
| - | * [[Age of majority]] | + | *[[Adultcentrism]] |
| - | * [[Boy]] | + | *[[Gerontocracy]] |
| - | * [[Defense of infancy]] | + | *[[Youth suffrage]] |
| - | * [[Ephebiphobia]] | + | |
| - | * [[Girl]] | + | |
| - | * [[Marriageable age]] | + | |
| - | * [[Voting age]] | + | |
| - | * [[Youth rights]] | + | |
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election. The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary capacity to independently decide how to cast a vote. The voting age is often of such importance that it is set by means of a constitutional provision.
At the present time the voting age across the world is typically 18. When the right to vote was first accorded in democracies the voting age was generally set at 21, or in some cases at an even higher level. In the 1970s widespread reform led to a reduction to 18 in a large number of countries. Debate is currently underway in many places on proposals to reduce the voting age below 18. In May 2009, Danish Member of Parliament Mogens Jensen presented an initiative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg to lower the voting age in Europe to 16 (see http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11895.pdf ).
See also
