Democracy or epistocracy? Age as a criterion of voter eligibility

Abstract

With reference to the history of ideas, this contribution to democratic theory demonstrates how the notion of who belongs to the demos and is eligible to vote has changed since the beginnings of modern democratic thought, drawing on the implications of this analysis for voting age boundaries. That minors lack political maturity, it is demonstrated, is the most common argument against a lowering of the voting age. Yet this article illustrates that the exclusion of children and young people is epistocratic and, as such, contradicts democratic principles as they are today generally understood. Finally, it introduces an original model to overcome this problem, based on no voting age boundaries and a system of young voter registration.