This House would lower the voting age to 16
The right to vote is one of the most important human rights. It gives men and women the chance to have a say in the way they are governed. It allows them to get rid of bad governments and makes sure that any government listens to its people for fear of being thrown out at the next election. It is therefore one of the most important ways in which other rights (e.g. free speech, the right to a fair trial) are protected.
the right to vote 투표권 for fear of ~에 대한 두려음으로
Not every country in the world is a democracy, with free elections / giving citizens / a fair political choice. But the right to vote is spreading and outright dictatorships are increasingly few on every continent. Yet what should that right to vote mean? A century or so ago almost no countries allowed women to vote, and it took decades of struggle for them to win political rights. Fifty years ago countries such as South Africa and many states in the USA limited the rights of black people to vote, but that too has changed for the better. Now every democracy accepts that all adult citizens should have the right to vote. But what does adult mean?
right to vote 선거권 outright 노골적인, 완저한 struggle 투쟁
In almost every country adult is taken for voting purposes to mean 18. 142 countries have 18 as their voting age. Some others (such as Taiwan and Japan) do not give their young people the right to vote until they are 21. But in several countries the voting age is younger - in Korea, Sudan and Indonesia it is 17, in Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua it is 16, and in Iran it is as low as 15. And in a number of well-known democracies such as the UK, USA and Australia there are growing movements to lower the voting age to 16.
voting age 선거할 수 있는 나이
This then follows a growing trend; in Britain a backbench motion for lowing the voting age passed the UK parliament 119-46 but won’t be implemented as it was opposed by the government,[1] in Scotland 16 year olds will vote in the independence referendum,[2] while Argentina has lowered the voting age for elections in 2013.[3] Within the EU Austria lowered its voting age in 2008[4] and there have been calls for the rest of the European Union to follow suit.
implement 시행하다 referendum 국민투표 follow suit 따라하다
Follow suit = to do the same thing:
This topic looks at the case for lowering the voting age to 16, but the arguments below could be used for a debate about a different voting age (perhaps 14?). Another issue to consider is whether the same age should be used for all kinds of voting (e.g. local elections, state elections, national elections, referenda). And should young people gain the right to stand for election at the same age they get the right to vote? In many countries, such as the UK and United States, you can vote at 18 but can’t stand for elected office until you are 21.
stand for election 입후보하다