经济学人:青年与民主:早投票 多选举(1)

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Youth and Democracy: Vote early, Vote often 青年与民主：早投票，多选举

Why the voting age should be lowered to 16? 为什么选举年龄应该降低至16岁？

How young is too young? 到底几岁才算太年轻？

Rich democracies give different answers, depending on the context: in New Jersey¹ you can buy alcohol at 21 and cigarettes at 19,  发达的民主国家给出了不同的答案，取决于事项的不同：在新泽西州，年龄达到21岁可以买酒，19岁可以买烟，

join the army at 17, have sex at 16 and be tried in court as an adult at 14. 17岁可以参军，16岁可以有性生活，14岁就可以被当作成年人出庭受审。

Such thresholds vary wildly from place to place. 类似这样的门槛不同地方有较大差异。

Belgian youngsters can get sozzled legally at 16. 比利时的年轻人在16岁就可以合法饮酒。

But on one thing most agree: only when you have turned 18 can you vote. 但是在一件事上大多数国家都是一致的：只有年满18岁才有选举权。

When campaigners suggest lowering the voting age, the riposte is that 16- and 17-year-olds are too immature². 当人们宣传建议降低投票年龄时，反对的人说16、7岁的年轻人还太不成熟。

This misses the real danger: that growing numbers of young people may not vote at all. 这会使人们忽视真正的危险：越来越多的年轻人可能根本不再去投票。

The trend across the West is disturbing. 整个西方的这种趋势很令人不安。

Turnout of American voters under 25 at presidential elections fell from 50% in 1972 to 38% in 2012;  25岁以下的美国选民参与总统选举的投票比例从1972年的50%降到2012年的38%；

among over-65s it rose from 64% to 70% (data for the 2016 election are not yet available). 超过65岁的选民的投票比例由64%增长到70%（2016年的选举数据还未公布）。

For congressional races, the under-25 vote was a dire³ 17% in 2014. 2014年的国会议员选举，25岁以下的选民的投票比例只占寥寥17%。

A similar pattern is repeated across the rich world. 类似的模式正在发达国家不断重现。

Young people’s disenchantment with the ballot⁴ box matters because voting is a habit: those who do not take to it young may never start. 年轻人对民主投票的觉醒至关重要，因为投票是一种习惯，那些没有投票习惯的年轻人或许永远不会开始投票。

That could lead to ever-lower participation⁵ rates in decades to come, draining the legitimacy⁶ of governments in a vicious spiral  这样会使参与度逐年走低，使政府的合法性陷入恶性循环，

in which poor turnout feeds scepticism towards democracy, and vice⁷ versa. 因为低投票率会滋生对于民主的怀疑，反过来这种怀疑又造成低投票率。

The disillusionment has many causes. The young tend to see voting as a choice rather than a duty (or, indeed, a privilege). 这种幻灭的产生有多种原因。年轻人往往将投票视为一种选择而非义务（或者说，这事实上是一种特权）。

The politically active tend to campaign on single issues rather than for a particular party. 政治活动家倾向于就单一问题进行宣传，而不是为某一特定的政党进行宣传。

Politicians increasingly woo older voters—not only because they are more likely to vote but also because they make up a growing share of the electorate⁸. 政客们越来越多地拉拢年长的投票者，因为年长选民不仅更有可能投票，而且人数在选区中占的比例越来越大。

Many young people see elections stacked against them. 很多年轻人都觉得选举对他们不利。

It is no surprise, then, that many of them turn away from voting. 所以毫无意外的很多年轻人都不去投票。

Some countries make voting compulsory⁹, which increases turnout rates. 一些国家施行强制投票制以增加投票率。

But that does not deal with the underlying¹⁰ disillusionment. 但是对选举的期待终会破灭，强制的做法对此无能为力。

Governments need to find ways to rekindle¹¹ the passion, rather than continue to ignore its absence. 政府需要找到新方法重新点燃选民的热情，而不是继续不顾选民低沉的士气。

A good step would be to lower the voting age to 16, ensuring that new voters get off to the best possible start. 一个有益的做法是把投票年龄降低到16岁，这能确保新选民能在最好的状态下开始投票。

This would be no arbitrary change. 这并非是未经深思熟虑而做出的改变。

 

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