Are Scotland's newly enfranchised youth voters saying nay to aye?
| Glasgow, Scotland
In Scotland, at 16 you are too young to drive a car or buy alcohol. The minimum age for purchasing cigarettes was raised to 18 a few years ago.
But while they can鈥檛 drink, smoke or cruise down the street, today 16-year-old Scots will have a chance afforded to few people of any age: to vote for a new independent state.
Under the terms of Scotland鈥檚 historic independence referendum, 16- and 17-year-olds will be casting a ballot for the first time in a major UK election. With overnight polls suggesting the outcome is , the electoral choices of Scotland鈥檚 teenage voters could be crucial.
Young Scots, like their older compatriots, are divided on the question of independence. Saffron Dixon, 16, from Glasgow, says she is a definite 鈥榶es鈥�.
鈥淚 think that the people of Scotland deserve to live in a democratic society where they always get the government they vote for. The only way to achieve this is through independence.鈥�
Seventeen-year-old Ian, also from Glasgow, wants Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom. 鈥淢y dad and grandfather and other members of my family have fought and died under the Union Jack, to keep it maintained as a union so why break it up?鈥� says Ian, who hopes to join the Royal Air Force but is concerned about the uncertain future of the defense forces in an independent Scotland.聽
The decision to extend the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds was derided as a politically motivated ploy by Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond. But if anything the youngest cohort of voters seem less receptive to the independence message than their slightly older peers. Over half of 16- and 17-year-olds said that they intended to vote "no," when polled earlier this summer.
Concerns that young people would be attracted by superficial arguments about national identity have been confounded, says Jan Eichhorn of Edinburgh University who has been extensively studying Britain鈥檚 newest voters. 鈥淭he big issue for 16- and 17-year-olds is economics. It is the same as for the rest for the adult population,鈥� says Dr. Eichorn.
Young voters seem even less swayed by appeals to Scottishness and Britishness than the rest of the electorate. 鈥淭hey are less likely to favor one identity over another. More say they feel equally Scottish and British鈥� compared to the rest of the population, says Eichhorn. 鈥淭hey seem more cross-border in outlook, more transnational.鈥�
Young voters are often turned off by mainstream politics, but they appear far more engaged by today's referendum. Schools and teachers have played a key role in promoting non-partisan debate, says Eichhorn.
鈥淵oung people are very active and engaged because it鈥檚 going to affect them more than any other generation,鈥� said Kyle Thornton, 19. Kyle is chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, a non-political assembly that meets three times a year to discuss issues affecting young people. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e thinking about the long-term effects of the vote. What will the jobs of the future look like?鈥�
Regardless of how young Scots vote today, Eichhorn believes that the evidence supports widening the franchise for all elections.聽鈥淭his could have a really positive effect on political participation," he says.聽
