Lowering the voting age isn’t enough: why civic education matters

Although debates over lowering the voting age to 16 have intensified across many democracies, empirical evidence on the effects of such reforms remains limited. This study examines Korea's reduction of the voting age from 19 to 18. Although the threshold differs, the Korean case resembles votes-at-16 reforms in a key respect, as most newly eligible voters remained in school and lived with their families. Using longitudinal data from the Korean Educational Longitudinal Study 2013 (KELS 2013) and a linear probability model, this study finds that early enfranchisement does not have a statistically significant effect on later voter turnout, whereas family socioeconomic status remains a strong predictor. When I include civic engagement in the model, the effect of family income becomes non-significant, while higher levels of civic engagement strongly predict a greater likelihood of voting. A difference-in-differences analysis further reveals that early enfranchisement does not significantly affect youth civic engagement. These results suggest that lowering the voting age alone, without accompanying civic education, may not be sufficient to increase youth political participation.