- Demeny voting
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Demeny voting refers to the idea of providing a political voice for children by allowing parents or guardians to vote on their behalf. The term was coined by Warren C. Sanderson in 2007.[1] Under a Demeny voting system, each parent would cast a proxy vote, worth half a vote, for each of their dependent children, thus allowing for a split vote if the parents' political views differ. Once children reach the minimum voting age, their parents would no longer vote on their behalf.
Contents
History
Demeny voting is named after the demographer Paul Demeny who came up with the idea in 1986. Demeny argued that children "should not be left disenfranchised for some 18 years: let custodial parents exercise the children's voting rights until they come of age". Demeny's motivation behind proposing such a system was to "make the political system more responsive to the young generation's interests" and was part of a broader set of policy proposals aimed at combatting the low fertility rate in certain countries.[2]
The idea however is older than that. It was regularly discussed in France in the 1920s and was almost adopted by the National Assembly.[3][4]
In 2003, Germany had a vote on whether to introduce Demeny voting but it was defeated, being discussed again in 2008.[5] Demeny voting has the term Kinderwahlrecht in German.[6]
Japan has had a discussion about Demeny voting as a possible answer to its demographic problem where the population is dramatically skewed in favour of the elderly to the detriment of the young. This follows the publication of a paper by Reiko Aoki of the Centre for Intergenerational Studies at Hitotsubashi University and Rhema Vaithianathan of the University of Auckland.[7] On March 2, 2011, the Centre for Intergenerational Studies at Hitotsubashi University hosted a conference on Demeny voting.[8]
In Hungary, the ruling coalition has been advocating Demeny voting, but admitted in April 2011 that it probably won't happen for some time.[9]
Advantages
Aoki and Vaithianathan argue that Demeny Voting is justified because it reduces gerontocracy. They calculate that Demeny voting in Japan would increase the parent voting bloc to 37% and lower the over 55 year old voter-bloc to 35%. .[10]
Stefan Olsson [11] argues that "the delegation of the children's right to vote is not any stranger than when adults delegate political authority to their elected representative. After the election, the representatives have the right to make use of this authority." (page 71). He suggests that delegating a child's authority to the parent is perfectly reasonable. Olsson also argues that there are other areas where parents are delegated authority such as what the child eats, where he goes to school, and children are regularly represented in a court of law by parents. He says that "Arguing that parents cannot act as their children's representative because they might abuse their position becomes absurd in comparison to all the other powers parents already have over their children." (page 72).
It has been suggested it would make it harder for elderly voters to vote in governments that borrow money for their benefit but which will only be paid back by future generations.[12]
It may ensure that the needs of children are better taken into account, such as education, childcare and healthcare for the young.[7][13]
It could make governments more ecologically conscious as younger people will be more affected by poor environmental policy than older voters.
Extending the vote to children may increase their involvement in politics encouraging children to grow up to be more active citizens.
Disadvantages
Some people see Demeny voting as simply giving parents more votes rather than those votes being cast for the benefit of the children themselves.[14]
Some writers argue that like marrying or making a will, voting is an exercise of the informed will and cannot legitimately be done by proxy.[4] Others have argued that with the right to vote comes the obligations of citizenship such as military service. Since children do not have those obligations, then they should also not have the rights.[15]
Some people worry that the power of older votes will be diluted and the interests of children might be prioritised above those of the elderly.
Some commentators have argued that parents cannot be trusted to vote on behalf of their children's interests and would more likely simply vote for their own interests, and therefore simply lowering the voting age to 13 or 14 or lower would be more beneficial as many children are able to express complex opinions at that age.[16][17]
Jon Elster has argued that if the justification for Demeny is on the basis of consequences then why not vote directly on the consequences rather the constitution. His point is to that to advance Demeny voting on the grounds that it leads to desirable consequences is pointless, since it will be blocked by exactly those groups who will block the desired consequences (e.g. raising pension age).[18]
References
- ^ Sanderson, 2007. A Near Electoral Majority of Penioners. Population and Development Review Volume 33, Issue 3, pages 543–554, September 2007.
- ^ Demeny, P. 1986 "Pronatalist Policies in Low-Fertility Countries: Patterns, Performance and Prospects," Population and Development Review, vol. 12 (supplement): 335-358.
- ^ Parijs, Philippe van, 1999 ,"The Disenfranchisement of the Elderly, and Other Attempts to Secure Intergenerational Justice", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 27,: 292-333.
- ^ a b Hinrichs, Karl, 2002,"Do the Old Exploit the Young? Is Enfranchising Children a Good Idea?", Archives of European Sociology Vol 23.
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/pss/25434634
- ^ http://www.geo.de/GEOlino/nachrichten/1471.html
- ^ a b EconPapers: Is Demeny Voting the Answer to Low Fertility in Japan?
- ^ http://cis.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/Japanese/society/conferences-shoushika.html
- ^ Politics.hu, April 4th, 2011: "Fidesz official urges body set up to examine giving extra vote to families" Retrieved 2011-06-23
- ^ EconPapers: Is Demeny Voting the Answer to Low Fertility in Japan?
- ^ Olsson, Stefan, 2008,"Children's Suffrage: A Critique of the Importance of Voters' Knowledge for the Well-Being of Democracy", The International Journal of Children's Rights, vol. 16,: 55-76.
- ^ Should Parents Vote for Kids? | Tokyo Notes
- ^ http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/page/portal/ifoContent/N/neucesifo/CONFERENCES/SC_CONF_2008/Fertility%20and%20Public%20Policy/Sanderson_fpp08_neu.pdf
- ^ Macdonald, Finlay (July 12, 2009). "Baby boomers' greed stumps kids". The Sunday Star-Times. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/opinion/2585838/. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ Schrag, F., 2004, "Children and Democracy: Theory and Practice Politics", Philosophy and Economics Vol 3
- ^ No Right Turn: Against Demeny voting
- ^ No Right Turn: Lowering the voting age
- ^ Elster, Jon (1986) "Comment on van der Veen and Van Parijs", Theory and Society pp.709- 722
Suffrage Basic topics Voting age · Youth suffrage · Right of foreigners to vote · Demeny voting · Women's suffrage · Universal suffrage · Compulsory voting · DisfranchisementBy country Japan · History in New Zealand · United States (Foreigners · District of Columbia · Puerto Rico · 26th Amendment · Women)See also Categories:
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