Denying people between the ages of 16 and 17 years the opportunity to vote is irrational.
Voting is considered to be one of the fundamental rights of people in human society. In countries such as Australia, Belgium and Bolivia it is mandatory for every person within the age of voting to cast their vote on Election Day. With the exception of countries such as Austria, Brazil, Bolivia and Cuba where the minimum age of voting is 16 years, the minimum age of voting in most of the countries of the world including United States of America, United Kingdom, France and China is 18 years. There is no upper age limit to voting in all these countries except in the Holy See where Cardinals over 80 years of age are barred from voting for a new pope. This has raised the debate about whether it is sensible to prevent people between 16 and 17 year of age from voting. The main reason often given for not allowing people between the ages of 16 and 17 years to vote is that people in this age group are not matured enough to make the right decision about voting. Research has shown that