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Demeny voting (also called parental voting or family votingWall, John (2022). "Ch. 1: Voting over History". Give Children the Vote: On Democratizing Democracy. London, UK. ) is a type of proxy voting where the provision of a suffrage for children by allowing parents or legal guardian to vote on their behalf. The term is named after demographer Paul Demeny, though the concept predates him. It is often proposed as a measure to ensure the (indirect) representation of children who are considered Youth suffrage. Under a Demeny voting system, parents would cast a proxy vote for their child, possibly allowing for a split Weighted voting if the parents' political views differ.
In Germany the idea was even first discussed in the 1910s.Rupprecht, I. "Das Wahlrecht für Kinder", Baden-Baden 2012, Nomos-Verlag: 26–32 In the 1970s and the 1980s lawyers and political scientists began a discussion which is still going on. In 2003 and 2008 the German parliament held a vote on whether to introduce such a right (called Kinderwahlrecht), but both proposals were defeated.
Pieter Vanhuysse (head of research and Deputy Director at the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna) argued in 2013 that in Austria, where there are relatively strong pro-elderly policies, that "the time is ripe for at least opening a clear-headed and empirically informed democratic debate about the radical idea of giving each parent one half extra vote, to be used on behalf of each under-age child until that child reaches legal voting age".
Japan has discussed Demeny voting as a possible answer to its aging population, which gives disproportionate voice to the elderly as a result of their increasing numbers. 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. EconPapers: Is Demeny Voting the Answer to Low Fertility in Japan? On 2 March 2011, the Centre for Intergenerational Studies at Hitotsubashi University hosted a conference on Demeny voting. Aoki and Vaithianathan have also conducted a number of surveys on voter attitude to Demeny Voting and found that a considerable percentage of respondents would cast their children's vote differently to their own. In July 2013, Nikkei in Japan wrote a major editorial supporting the idea as part of a debate on constitutional reform in Japan.
In Hungary, the ruling coalition has been advocating Demeny voting, but admitted in April 2011 that it probably won't come into practice for some time. Politics.hu, April 4th, 2011: "Fidesz official urges body set up to examine giving extra vote to families" Retrieved 2011-06-23
Paul Demeny discussed the idea on a CBC interview. CBC interview with Paul Demeny Professor Miles Corak from the University of Ottawa has also written a blog on the idea and promoted it in Canada. He suggests that it is supported on a humanitarian basis since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that children be given civil and political rights. He suggests that given the evidence that households where mothers control the purse-strings spend more on their children, it is mothers who ought to be given the proxy vote until the child comes of age. Professor Corak's thesis has been taken up by journalist-turned-politician Chrystia Freeland.
Stefan OlssonOlsson, 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. 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 parental rights 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 social security but which will only be paid back by future generations. Should Parents Vote for Kids? | Tokyo Notes It may ensure that the needs of children, such as education, childcare, and healthcare, are better taken into account. It could also make governments more ecology conscious as younger people will be more affected by poor environmental policy than older voters. Finally, extending the vote to children may increase their involvement in politics, encouraging children to grow up and be more active citizens.
Yet others have argued that more youth suffrage, by 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. No Right Turn: Against Demeny voting No Right Turn: Lowering the voting age Further, law professor Vivian Hamilton argues that in light of findings from research in developmental psychology and cognitive and social neuroscience, governments can "no longer justify the electoral exclusion of mid-adolescents by claiming that they lack the relevant competencies". In the United Kingdom, politics professor David Runciman argues for lowering the voting age to 6. Some scholars advocate a 'flexible voting age' building on the willingness of minors to participate in elections.5. Tremmel, Jörg / Wilhelm, James (2015): Democracy or Epistocracy? Age as a Criterion of Voter Eligibility. In: Tremmel, Jörg / Mason, Antony / Dimitrijoski, Igor / Godli, Petter (eds.): Youth Quotas in Ageing Societies. Dordrecht, NL: Springer, pp. 125–147. The 'flexible voting age' proposal contains a need for adolescents to register in voting lists and so differs from proposals that come under the name of 'voting from birth on' or 'voting age zero'. It takes into account that infants, small children and many younger adolescents will have no interest in political participation.
Jon Elster has argued that if the justification for Demeny is on the basis of consequences, then said consequences should be voted on, rather than changing the voting demographic. His argument is 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 the pension age).Elster, Jon (1986) "Comment on van der Veen and Van Parijs", Theory and Society pp.709- 722
In 2014, childhood studies professor John Wall put forward a proposal for proxy-claim suffrage, in which a child could actively claim their right to vote from their proxy-holder, rather than passively waiting for age-based voting qualification. Why Children and Youth Should Have the Right to Vote: An Argument for Proxy-Claim Suffrage He further developed this idea and its relation to childism in the book Give Children the Vote: on Democratizing Democracy. Wall co-founded the ongoing [ Children's Voting Colloquium with Robin Chen to bring together in virtual society discussants of minimum voting age reform.
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