To me, the topic of Lowering the Voting Age to 16 years old is a distraction to what voting is really about. We, as Americans, are voting for someone to protect our country. The percentage of votes matter, the majority of votes are made by older voters, close to 70%, whom are experienced and interested in the elections. I do not see many 16 year olds interested in an election, nevermind the disinterest with school for the majority of the teens.
Furthermore, when voting in an election the voter must have knowledge and interest to support their vote. Like it stated in the newspaper article, "In, 2012, 62% of the youngest voters showed disinterest in the political process by not voting." Which means that the 16-18 group would have
In the article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the polls,” by Annys Shin, many teens who are 16-17 years old can now vote during the election. The decision was made by the Takoma City Council that in Montgomery County Community, they are the first ones in the nation to lower their voting age from 18-16 years old. A group of 350 students from Montgomery Blair High School were granted the right to vote in elections and one of the student who got the right to vote, Ben Miller had said, “ It’s a valuable Privilege,” and he means that it is a great advantage that many 16-17 years old can now vote. Many young adults who are the age of 18 are most likely not a good age to vote because many of them are planning to leave their childhood homes. And they can lack of discipline and causes them not to vote.
With voter turnout being at such low point, especially amoung those of youger voting age, I think it would be wise to consider lowering the voting age to 16. Lowering the age required to vote to 16 would increase the average age-range of voters as a whole, and create a more diverse voting public. It may also spark civic interest in the youth of America
The controversy over lowering the voting age is a difficult one. While lowering the voting age will increase the number of voters, it is not guaranteed to increase the percentage of participation. We must also consider the fact that younger voters tend not to vote. Another concern is the involvement of young adults ages 16-18 in politics. It is not common that these teens follow politics and think about who would be a good leader for their country. Lowering the voting age most likely will not help to improve voter turnout or participation or turnout. We need to work toward increasing the participation of the existing voters.
Voting age has always been a hot topic in American polotics and there are many instances that benefit each sides' arguments. Participation being one of the greatest contributors to each side of the argument.
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.
In the article “ Why We Should Lower the Voting Age to 16,” Laurence Steinberg asserts that teenagers deserve “ more than just a voice to make a change” but a right to vote (Steinberg). He elaborates on how teenagers are qualified to vote because their minds are fully developed enough to make good choices. Steinberg believes that teenagers have the responsibility to vote because currently the teens right now are having a “ thoughtful, eloquent protest.”
Some people have called for lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, claming it would improve voter turnout. This could be a real problem in US. Discussions about lowering the voting age distract from the real problem.
Indeed, many reasons exist as to why individuals in the age bracket of sixteen to eighteen should be given voting access. In their teenage years, young people are afforded the right to participate in the workforce and earn income. With this right, they should also be granted the privilege to vote in local, state, and national elections because they are paying towards local, state, and federal taxes. Simply, sixteen to seventeen year-olds pay into the government coffers, and thus should only be taxed if they have an equal voice in their government. In contrast, some may say young people have not paid their dues yet and have only paid limited tax dollars to the government. However, any person taxed should have a voice in government. Furthermore, if the voting age is lowered to sixteen years, young citizens are able to express their ideas and opinions related to both society and government as well as shed a different viewpoint on social matters. Teens in the U.S. can select political leaders, who value teen views and offer support to the young generation. The future of this country is truly the next generation, and issues and
Lack of knowledge would control a portion of the lower aged voters. Most teens pay little to no attention to what is going on with politics. The promises made by the canidates, or most importantly the future our nation holds from the different choices between each canidate. It can be granteed that a teenager
Lowering the voting age would decrease the numbers of voters. Many teenagers do not bother to vote at all. According to the first article Keep the voting age at 18, includes that "Only 38% of voters in the 18_24 age group voted in 2012. By contrast, close to 70% of older voters participicated." This shows most younger voters lack of interest of voting. Another reason, the 16-18 age group young
In the most recent election in 2016 only 59% of Americans voted. Many people today see this as a major issue; however, a major argument has risen on how to solve this problem. One of the solutions that have been considered is lowering the voting age to 16 to get younger Americans votes. However many Americans think that this is crazy to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote. The clear and only answer to this contentious question is that 16 and 17 year olds should not be able to vote. As stated before 16 and 17 year olds should not be allowed to vote because sixteen and seventeen year olds are not mature enough, their opinions can be easily swayed or changed based on what others think, and they are not educated enough on politics in order to vote.
People are arguing a point that is pretty insignificant to the political world . i think lowering the voting age would be harmful to voters because 16 year olds are typically not worried about politics . Changing the voting age by any amount would not be fair to the percentage of younger voters that are active from ages 18- 24 ( The u.s cencus bureau reported 36% of them voted in 2012 ) , But there would be a even less percentage of active voters if the voting age was reduces by 2 years from 18 to 16 . Im betting maybe a third of 16 year olds would be interested in voting and presidential elections are held every four years and their would be a healthy portion of 16 year olds that would turn 18 when it is time for election . So why
Some people would say that keeping the voting age at 18 may be for the best. My generation doesn't involve themselves into politics and don't participate much in voting. Some people believe that 16 isn't mature or intelligent enough to understand the world around them yet. They think that when it comes to being responsible or having the power to influence who our future leaders will be gives a "child" too
While lowering the voting age to 16 years old may sound like a good idea, It may be desasterous at the same time. The human brain isn't truly developed until after the age of 25. Having younger voters may not make a very huge difference, but at the same time it could.
People all over the United States are getting ready to make a decision on who to vote for in the Presidential election this fall. Most people don’t even begin thinking about the voting process until they reach the age of 18, since the legal voting age as of now is 18. However, some believe that the voting age should be lowered to 16, to allow for a more broad selection of voters. While opening up the option to vote for 16 year olds would provide a much larger number of voters, others think that teenagers would not take the election seriously and counting their votes as part of the overall election would be useless and unnecessary. There are many reasons aiding both sides of the argument.