Lowering the Voting Age to 18

Since 1972, youth voter turnout has been on the decline. According to the Child Trends Databank, 50 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 participated in the 1972 presidential election (2015). Nearly three decades later, the percentage of young adults aged 18 to 24 who voted in the 2000 presidential election had dropped eighteen

The 26th amendment was also important because it lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years of age. There was a long debate going on about the age during World War II when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president and during the Vietnam War. The debate was over having men being drafted at a young age and not being able to vote. In 1943, Georgia was the first to lower voting age to 18. Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly voted for this law in 1945. Match 10, 1971, the U.S. senate voted unanimously in favor and by March 23 the states the states ratified it and President Richard M. Nixon signed it into law in July of that

because many people were not able to vote in the past. With movements, bills, and protests more

The younger generation are infamously known for having a low voter turnout for each election. Young adults have a loud voice when it comes to supporting their political stance but the majority of them don't vote so their efforts go to waste. We can see the statistics of voting habits from various age groups where the middle and old aged are exercising their civic duties far more than those who have just recieved this responsiblity. We do need to balance out the young and the old voters, but decreasing the minumum required age will not solve anything as 18 year olds hardly ever vote as is. We should not change the minimum voting age from 18 as it won't increase the demand for citizens to vote, instead we should focus on incentives to make it so people will want participate in the voting process.

A proposal has been presented to increase voter turnout by lowering the minimum voting age from eighteen to seventeen years old. The younger voters will be able to vote on local offices but not national level offices. Allowing seventeen year olds to vote would not be fair because they would only be able to vote for local offices not the national offices. If the voting age is going to be reduced to seventeen why not allow them to vote for the national level issues such as president. This change in the minimum voting age would not be effective because the voters would rather vote for national issues as opposed to local candidates which they are not able to do. The change in voting age is very unnecessary because there are not many eighteen year

Secondly, if the age group was lowered it would allow children at the age of 16 to become more interested in the political aspects of the country. For example, parents would be able to educate their children on the importance of voting, explaining what it means to cast your vote and the effects it could have on them during the present and future. Elderly people, above the age of 65, typically are the deciding votes because they understand the importance of electoral involvement.

In the 2012 presidential elections those that voted were only 61% of eligible voters. If the voting age were lowered that percentage may not change. There will still be those that are uninterested in the election, or that are unable to vote due to varing reasons.

Yet something so important as voting hardly raises the eyebrows to them. There was a time that it meant something to a young voter. An online article from Wikipedia - Voting Rights in the United States, explores a time when the voting age came to the forefront. In the 1960's the minimal age to vote was twenty one years old. A movement to lower the voting age to eighteen came to light during the Vietnam War. Many argued that they were drafted to fight in a war, but couldn't vote. A common slogan used by supporters was, " old enough to fight, old enough to vote". In 1971 the twenty sixth amendment was ratified in the Constitution to extend the voting right to citizens eighteen years of age. It shouldn't take a war to get us as young Americans interested. We should educate ourselves more and take the time to watch the debates and listen to those running for office. I have stood in those long lines with my parents waiting their turn to vote. I would get tired and often go play until they were done. But it was important to them and worth it to wait, and get that opportunity that the Constitution provides them in

Second, the young people in our society are not properly taught about politics and how the government works until they are in college. In high school I was required to take a government course which taught how the government works and what policies did. It was a very helpful course into how the government functioned. The people who don’t take this course or are well educated in politics don’t have a clue about what going on. One of the problems uneducated voters have is they don’t know who to vote for in the election. All high schools should require kids to take a course in which they are learning about how the government works or operates. This will educate people more in who to vote for and which candidates have the same morals as them. This past year, “38 percent of all young voters from ages 18-24 voted in the 2012 election” (Thom File). This is not a mid-term

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

To be able to vote, the minimum age is 18 years. When we vote, we pick the qualified candidates to represent us in government. They will work around our ideas and do things in the interest of society.

. I personally don't feel the legal voting age should be changed in any way. When an individual turns eighteen they are able to make an informed decision. If the age was to be lowered, I feel the younger voters would be influenced by their parent or other authorative figures the individual looks up to. However, it is shown in "Keeping the Voting Age at 18", that younger voters tend to be less involved in voting. Which shows that if the age was to be lowered, it more than likely wouldn't affect the outcome of the vote. However, if the age was to be lowered, that would create more room for misinformed votes. Which in the long run would affect the outcome of the campaign. I also feel that to vote, one must understand the intentions of the person

Casting a vote in an election is something many people including the young adults look forward to because it is this one time that their opinion matters. In the article “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the polls” by Annys Shin, she informed us “about 350 16- and 17-year olds who were granted the right to vote in municipal elections by the Takoma City Council.” Those 350 individuals were the first ever 16 and 17 year olds to have the opportunity to cast their vote for a political election, however there are many who believe that this specific age group shouldn’t have the right to take part in events such as these because they aren’t old enough to make an educated decision. Therefore, the voting age should remain the same of 18 years old, although it’s a one to two year difference many teenagers who act as if they’re still children can mature into young adults within those years considering they don’t have the appropriate mindset to cast a vote during an

Since the 26th Amendment granting 18-year-olds the right to vote four decades ago, many citizens still question the age an individual should be in order to have this right. The issue is deciding the age where an individual has developed the mental maturity and intellectual capabilities to be able to make a decision for a whole country. Although, since suffrage has been expanded through the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments, voter turnout continues to remain lower than it was in 1800s. Many who are granted this right to vote do not fulfill their civic responsibility, and this is especially seen among young teens. Teenages are barely starting at life, and don’t have enough perspective to understand the importance of voting. Sixteen and seventeen year olds therefore should not be able to vote because they don’t have enough political knowledge, have higher rates of apathy, and issues would arise in the registration process.

Voting allows the people to be heard. It's an chance for us to make changes. Things past repesentive or politicans did'nt do right could be changed or done.