The legal voting age should be reduced to 16 instead of 18. We can work, we can join the army, we can even get married at the age of 16, but we can't vote at 16? We can leave school, we can move out of the family house and live on our own independently if we wanted to at the age of 16, but yet we are considered immature and not responsible enough to vote at 16, why?
Why is electing a political representative much more important than authorising a 16 year old to go fight and potentially die for their country.
The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969 during the Vietnam war, because it was only fair to those aged 18 - 20 dying for their country have a say in how the country is run. Therefore if 16 year olds are now capable of
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If maturity is the issue, it important to take into account that 16 year olds are just as informed as 18 year olds (in some cases more so). In fact there could be many 20, 30, or even 40 year olds who are irresponsible, do not make informed decisions and are clueless; this does not mean we deny them the right vote. Just because they are older necessarily does not mean they know everything in detail about politics because they have more life experience and can make better informed judgements than a 16 year old.
What is it about electing a political representative that is seen to be much more important than choosing a life partner or becoming a soldier, why don't we have the rights of an adult? If we work for the government, and pay tax to the government, why can’t we have our say in it?
At 16 we are considered as young adults – accepting responsibilities of our own action – should we not then be treated as one too and hold a position in the political world to prove that we can be trusted to cast our vote wisely. Who is to say at what age we have entered the adulthood mentally and are mature enough, responsible enough to finally be able to vote. Giving the vote to young adults would force politicians to take our needs and desires more seriously instead of it being neglected. By not allowing
Sixteen-year-olds have already taken on several adult-like responsibilities. They can be taxed, they can get a job, they can drive, and they can sign up to join the armed forces. If they can do all that, and even be sentenced to death, why can't they vote? It just doesn't make sense that they can't vote.
Another reason I think the voting age should not change is because 16 year olds are not as
Have you ever wondered if the voting age could be lowered? Well there is a huge Controversy on it. Why? Because many young adults, or teenagers, live and have the same responsibility as an adult would .In many peoples opinion, it should be lowered .Many people think the same way, young voices matter.
The voting age should be increased to 19 or 21 years of age. Most 18 year olds have just graduated or are still in highschool, so many of them are immature,and lack life experience. In addition, many 18 year olds do not have a plan(s) after high school, so if they can’t make a decision about their future what makes people think that they can make an informed decision about the future of the country. However, there are some states like Ohio that are allowing seventeen year olds to vote in primaries.
That is why i feel our country should not lower the voting age at all. Most teenagers dont vote and have no intension on voting any time in the future. We should keep the voting to adults at the age of 18 and
For most teenagers turning 16 means an opportunity to drive without supervision and starting college. A new campaign is hoping to give these teenagers the ability to vote in local elections. The Vote16USA aims to reduce the age of voting from the current age of 18 to 16. The objective of this campaign is to promote the participation of youth in politics. The campaign has ignited debate over issues such as the competency of their decision making and whether allowing people as young as 16 is the best way to engage the youth.
If the government allowed sixteen-year-olds to vote, they would build in them the habit of going out in elections at a young age. Eventually, that will result in increasing the overall voter turnout as the population ages. Middle adolescents would go out and practise their right out of habit. Consequently, the country will be more democratic. Moreover, politicians will care more about middle adolescents knowing that their voices count. Therefore, better services and advanced programs as well as critical wise decisions will take place creating a better environment for them. Overall, getting sixteen-year-olds into the habit of voting will definitely turn the table.
In the article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the polls”, by Annys Shin, it is said that Ben Miller a 16-year-old boy walked into the toll booth at Takoma Park Community Center and was planned to do something about the fact that 16-year-olds cannot vote in the election. This brings up an interesting argument of whether or not 16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote. People will argue that 16 and 17-year-olds do not know what they are doing or just have a lack of interest and that is a reason why some say no to letting them vote but others say that it could mean the difference in the election.
In her article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the poll,” Annys Shin explains into debt of the issue of whether or not 16 and 17-year old citizens should be allowed to vote. I believe that 16 and 17-year olds should be allowed to vote because they are affected by many of the political issues that are being debated on today.
They can make immature choices regarding politics and at the same time not really care about politics activities. It is normal that teens can be irrational, unreasonable and complain about things because they are still in their process of maturation and growing up. Still, when it comes to voting it can risky that they could be given the right to vote at that age because they might not think about their impulsive decisions or the consequences of their decisions when it comes to politics activities. They get distracted by everything and focus more on technology and relationships in school; therefore, they are still maturing. People at the age of 16 are not mature enough, they do not pay attention of their consequences of their choices. They might not make serious decisions about many stuff because they think they are not adults yet. This might change a little be more when they turn 18 years old , they might have matured a little be more and if not, they are self-aware that at 18 years old they are seen as adults and expect from them to act as adults and make serious decisions. According to article, “Current voting age in US should not be lowered” by Vanessa Way, concluded, “If we can’t confidently trust a 16 year old to drive a vehicle, how could we trust them to make an informed decision about voting on the highest political positions in the country?... The fact is, most adult Americans don’t understand how the government works or how the people they vote into office affects it. They are just as easily influenced by the politicians as teenagers are…However, if we can’t trust these kids to look after themselves, how can we trust them to make responsible decisions for our country? Their vote affects us, too.” Adolescence in general, most of them do not understand their consequences of their act and most of the time they do not think before
In my position I agree to lower the age of voting to 16-17 years old because it can raise up the percentage of voting. Many people are not voting because they don't believe it can help them and their community also with the support from 16-17 years old, it can show a huge difference on how the votes are increasing little by little. Also it can gives them experience on what's the voting like. Once they get older, they will know what to do because they registered the vote in an
By allowing 16 years old to vote, it could make them more interested in politics. Before voting, they will want to investigate about each party and the policies they have. Which in turn could will make them more interested in politics. There is an urgent need for younger people to get involved in politics and by lowering the voting age this could create a new wave of politicians. By allowing 16 years old to vote, schools will have to teach politics in school and go into greater depth about politics.
I agree, that 16 and 17 year old citizens should have to right to vote. The legal voting age in America is 18 years old, and it has been that way for about 40 years. They were given that right when the the 26th amendment was passed, and ever since it has been passed, there was no real dramatic increase in the voting rate. Young people didn't really pay attention to politics, usually because at that age, 18 year old already had a lot to deal with in their daily lives.
British dramatist Shakespeare once said that there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. Through the ages, controversies about voting age have not quieted down, and there are more and more different opinions about voting age like it should increase to 21, or it should decrease to 17 or 16, even 13. Like a coin has two sides, each opinion has both advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, I prefer the voting age to be 18 in the United States. Teenagers who are 18 years old are independent enough to make their own decisions, and they should have the vote right as other adults do.
Imagine a time where teenagers are allowed to vote on important positions or issues that could possibly define our nation’s future. The average teenager may seem responsible, but would they be able to handle the responsibility of deciding our nation’s fate in the world as well as their own. In the article, “ Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the polls,” Annys Shin, who writes in depth about the historical event as well as shares valued opinions of those who participated in the making of this event, exclaims that the, “ Montgomery County community [was] the nation’s first to lower the voting age from 18 to 16.” This seems to be a test to determine if the nation should lower the voting age completely. However, this test shows varying results, but majority seem to shed some light on the fact that teenagers simply should not take part in voting. The average teenagers seem too young to be mature about issues, are uninterested in what major decisions are made by the government, and are simply being used by their parentals for an extra person support their own beliefs.