In his proposal Margi explains that the need for lowering the voting age is due to the low voter turnout in the lats elections (which is not true). The youth in Israel have strong interest in politics and allowing their participation would improve the turnout rate.
The Machon Lademocratiya is not opposed to the law, though it did issue an opinion that points out that almost no other country has such a young voting age.
Margi has so far been able to draw wide support for his proposal
source: BHOL
Is this a smart move by Margi? In the long term it looks like something Shas might benefit from. With about 30% of students today in Haredi schools, and of those a significant majority are probably in Shas-affiliated schools, this seems to give Shas, and Haredim in general, an edge in any given election in the future, even though in the short term it might not help them any more than any other specific party.
Also, Haredi voters have higher turnouts than general population voters, so getting more Haredi voters into the system will also help the Haredi parties in general, even short-term.
What other reaosn would there be?
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Of course it's a great move for Haredi politicians because each year for the seen future, there are more and more Haredi youth hitting 17 than the past year.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this law. I accept that 'if you can give a guy a gun, then he can vote' logic, but even at 18, it is only an average age at which someone might be able to make a serious and responsible decision on a national level. IMO, most people at that age have not yet developed a informed political outlook.