经济学人:青年与民主:早投票 多选举(2)

 The usual threshold of 18 means that young people’s first chance to vote often coincides with finishing compulsory¹ education and leaving home. 投票门槛通常为十八岁，这意味着年轻人第一次拥有投票机会时往往正好完成义务教育并离开家门。

Away from their parents, they have no established voters to emulate² and little connection to their new communities. 由于远离父母，他们投票时不能跟随老选民，并且他们与新社区之间也没有多强的纽带。

As they move around, they may remain off the electoral roll. 随着他们四处奔波，他们也许会一直都不去投票。

Sixteen-year-olds, by contrast, can easily be added to it and introduced to civic³ life at home and school. 相反，十六岁的青少年可以很容易地注册进入投票名单，并在家庭或学校接受公民生活教育。

They can pick up the voting habit by accompanying their parents to polling stations. 通过陪同父母前往投票站，这些小选民可以养成投票习惯。

In Scotland, where 16- and 17-year-olds were eligible⁴ to vote in the independence referendum in 2014, an impressive three-quarters of those who registered turned out on the day,  在苏格兰，十六七岁的公民有资格在2014年的独立公投中投票，在注册者中有四分之三的人在投票当天完成投票，这个比率令人印象深刻。

compared with 54% of 18- to 24-year-olds. 十八至二十四岁的注册者投票率为54%。

In 2007 Austria became the only rich country where 16-year-olds could vote in all elections. 在2007年，奥地利成为发达国家中唯一一个十六岁公民可以在所有选举中投票的国家。

Encouragingly, turnout rates for under-18s are markedly higher than for 19- to 25-year-olds. 令人鼓舞的是，十八岁以下的公民投票率明显要高于十九至二十五岁的人。

Merely lowering the voting age is not enough, however. 然而，仅仅是降低法定投票年龄是不够的。

Youth participation⁵ in Scotland might have been still higher if more schools had helped register pupils. 如果更多学校帮助注册未成年选民，苏格兰青年参与程度可能还会更高。

Governments also need to work harder at keeping electoral rolls current. 政府还需要努力时时更新选举名单。

Some are experimenting with automatic updates whenever a citizen notifies a public body of a change of address. 有些人尝试在公民通知公共机构自己的地址变更时进行信息自动更新。

Civics lessons can be improved. 公民教育课也还有改进空间。

Courses that promote open debate and give pupils a vote in aspects of their school lives  那些鼓励公开辩论、鼓励未成年人就学校生活事宜发起投票的课程，

are more likely to boost political commitment later in life than those that present dry facts about the mechanics of government. 比干巴巴地讲解政府机制的课程更有可能促进学生在以后的生活中承担政治义务。

A lower voting age would strengthen the voice of the young and signal that their opinions matter. 投票年龄的降低将加强年轻人的声音，并向他们表明他们的观点是受到重视的。

It is they, after all, who will bear the brunt of climate change and service the debt that paid for benefits, such as pensions and health care, of today’s elderly. 毕竟是年轻人们将忍受气候变化的冲击并且偿还那些利益所支付的债务，比如老年人的退休金以及医疗保健费用。

Voting at 16 would make it easier to initiate⁶ new citizens in civic life. 在16岁的时候参与投票更易于让这些新公民开启公民生活。

Above all, it would help guarantee the supply of young voters needed to preserve the vitality⁷ of democracy. 最重要的是，这将有助于源源不断提供年轻选民，他们是保持民主的活力所必需的。

Catch them early, and they will grow into better citizens. 早早开始吸引他们投票，他们就会长成更好的公民。

 

1 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

2 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

3 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

6 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

7 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。