FACT BRIEF

Do scientists think 16 year-olds are too young to vote?

Monday, September 14, 2020

By Allegra Taylor

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Young adults possess adequate decision-making skills and political knowledge by age 16 to be entrusted with the right to vote, researchers say.

Decision-making skills under stress don’t fully develop until their 20s, but psychologists say that in “cold cognition” situations that allow for thoughtful decision-making and consultation, 16-year-olds are often as mature as adults. Psychology professor Daniel Hart finds the average 16-year-old has about the same level of political knowledge as the average 18- or 19-year-old. In Austria, where 16-year-olds can vote in all elections, a study of voting choices between younger and older generations found no evidence that voters under 18 made decisions "in any way of lesser quality."

A handful of U.S. cities have opened local elections to ages 16 and up. San Francisco voters are being asked to approve the step in November.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Library of Medicine: Electoral Studies - Turnout and quality of vote choice among 16 year-old voters

American Academy of Political and Social Science: Voting for teens under 18

New Scientist: Let science decide the voting age

PBS: Should 16 year-olds be allowed to vote?

The Hill: San Francisco considers changing local voting age to 16

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