Adults often organise surveys to find out what people think about things. But children and young people can run surveys too.
Our young Spanish Advisory Board member Eva ran a survey to find out what people around her thought about voting for 16-year-olds. She presented the results at the December Board meeting.
How was the survey organised?
At the beginning, it was going to be a survey just for family and friends, but Eva then asked them to share it so got many more responses!
“I organised this survey because I thought it was a good idea to collect people’s opinions about this important theme that concerns all of us, and the Platform was also looking at it." Eva
There were two anonymous surveys: one for those under 18 and another for those 18 and over, to compare how people can have different opinions depending on their experience.
Results: should the voting age be lowered to 16?
| Under 18 (173 responders) | Over 18 (46 responders) |
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Those that said the voting age should not be lowered to 16 mentioned:
- They are not mature enough
- They can be manipulated by someone else
Those that said that the voting age should be lowered to 16, mentioned:
- People of that age have a voice and opinion
- If you can work at that age, then why not vote?
“I have chosen the third option because I am only in favour of voting at 16 years of age if, before the age of 18, young people receive information and knowledge about how politics works and the power that our vote has.” Under-18 responder
In the consultation done by the Platform, children also mentioned the need for better education on democratic participation, voting, and politics in general.