Park 16-Year-Old Savors His History-Making Moment At The Polls

Proponents of a lowered voting age were quick to point out the irony that these young people were old enough to go to war but not old enough to elect the people drafting them. Congress proposed the 26th Amendment in response to immense pressure from angry, anti-war protesters. And, according to the National Constitution Center, the 26th Amendment was ratified in less than four months in what was and continues to be “the shortest ratification period of any constitutional amendment” (n.d.). Now, one would think that the record-breaking ratification of an expansion of voting rights would inspire young people to flock to the polls. Unfortunately, the opposite is true.

Voting has not always been as easy as it is today. It is interesting to examine how far America has progressed in its process of allowing different types of people to be able to vote. Voting was once aimed at a particular group of people, which were white males that owned their own property. Today, most people over the age of eighteen can vote, except for the mentally incompetent or people who have been convicted of major felonies in some states. The decline of voter participation has always been a debate in the public arena. According to McDonald and Popkin, it is “the most important, most familiar, most analyzed, and most conjectured trend in recent American political history (2001, 963)” The question is, how important is voter

The message emerging from a recent research series on youth civic and political participation is clear: today's youth are not disjoined from associational and small political life, but they are increasingly disenchanted with formal political institutions and practices. Children and youth under 18 have made sententious strides in recent years toward fuller involvement in democratic processes. These strides,

America has been built on the idea that as citizens, we have the choice to decide what is the best for our country. Millions of Americans cast their vote every election day to make sure their voices are heard on who is going to run their country and what new policies they will bring with them. As stated in Anny Shin’s article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the polls,” voting is a, “valuable privilege,” in which many don’t realize. In the United States, not every is allowed to vote, only 18-year old citizens are allowed to vote. However the number of 18-year olds voting is very low and this has been an issue in the political for quite a while. The concerns and desires of most millennials are not being expressed as many are not voting. Many, like the city of Takoma have proposed to allow 16 and 17-year olds to vote as they believe that voting among millennials will increase.

Allowing teens that are sixteen and seventeen vote is a good idea because many kids have a dream of their own. Ben miller, who is one of the first sixteen years olds to vote stated “it's a valuable privilege”, Which in all ways he's correct not many countries allow their younger generations to vote. After the “26 amendment gave 18-year-olds the right to vote” (shin) the rate of voter registration want up. The younger teenagers are considered more likely to vote than the elders. This showed a small difference in the outturn making it a better chance for whatever candidate to be chosen. Although, Miller did not have a driver's license yet he was still able to vote because of his “pre-register” which allowed him to vote “through the Motor vehicle administration”(shin). Even though his mother was a”writer and whose father does international relief and development work”(shin), he was

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.

Tim Male had one question in mind” How do we get more people to vote?” and introduced the proposal. By trying to lower the age I believe Miller wanted to catch the attention of teenagers in the hope that they would want to vote but forgot that not many teens come from a home that is politically involved so this was something new but not something exciting. For example in the article Ben Miller states the he has no burning issues motivating him, not even the legalization of marijuana and he even accompanied his mother to a recent candidate forum and was asked if he would've gone on his own and his answer was “No Way!”. Previously Ben Miller stated that being apart of the small group of teenagers was a valuable privilege to vote it goes to show that the opportunity is great but that there is no genuine interest to voting. Fred Schultz later states that the result won't be with time time and effort Takoma city devoted to the age voting issue and it will not achieve the goal of wanting to engage young voters in

In conclusion, young voters need to take an active role in government in order to continue one of the founding principles of our country which is that we are an democratically elected republic who is looking out for the interest of all of its people. The problem lies not within the older generation who have high turnout rates and are concerned with supporting issues relative to their stage in life. Instead, the burden lies upon the apathetic younger generation whose unique ideals, viewpoints, and experiences are being squandered because we are not voting. It is time for young Americans to step up to the plate.

“The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, allowing millions of young people to participate actively in the democratic process and to have a powerful voice in shaping their political future.” Being able to vote is a huge power. Being able to vote gives many Americans the opportunity to say what happens in their

In the last federal election only 43 per cent of people under age 34 cast ballots, compared to 65 per cent of older voters. If social media isn’t getting young voters than the question continues of what will. Many do believe it is the schools system that didn’t encourage political movement throughout early childhood. In addition it has been proven that if something is not nurtured at a young age, the chances of it ever being put into action is doubted. Many of the families whose parents voted, the children followed and their children. Therefore, creating a clear pattern if young people didn’t start early the likely hood of them ever starting depends on their demand for change. “It used to be that researchers expected that, as young people got older, they would show up in higher numbers at the ballot box — but the ‘Life Cycle Effect’, as it’s been called, looks like it’s starting to fade. The voters that are not showing up now are not likely to show up later, either. That has dire implications for our

One of our most, and many would argue, the most valuable rights as citizens of a democracy is our right to vote. It gives us a voice in the direction our elected representatives steer our country. Unfortunately, historically young voters are underrepresented due to their low voting turnout. This came as a shock to me being a young voter myself. Growing up in California I was excited about getting the chance to vote, to have a voice as it were. However, this is clearly not the case for all potential young voters.

Right now, groups are lobbing for Congressmen to pass a bill extending voting privileges to sixteen year olds. By allowing youth to vote the polls would change forever. For example, candidates running for office target their platforms to voters; who cares about people who don’t vote right? But this leaves out over twenty five percent of the population of the United States. By extending the vote to sixteen year olds the amount of unrepresented persons drops to twenty percent. Additionally by having people vote younger they are exposed to

Takoma Park City Council voted to lower the legal voting age to 16 for its residents and the majority voted in favor of it.The reason was to increase voter turnout in the polls and I think was a great way to do that. Shin quotes Rob Ritchie, director of the national reform organization FairVote and a Takoma Park resident, when she writes, “Eighteen-year-olds, it turns out, “are not a very good first voting age group,” Richie said, because many of them are in the midst of leaving their childhood homes.” This is very true because

The main argument people have against lowering the voting age is that people under the age of eighteen "show a lack of civil responsibility"(passage 1 paragraph 4) and that young people "show disinterest in the political process by not voting" (passage 1 p.4). However, this just simply isn't the case if it ever even was. Now more than ever through this chaotic political climate, young people are more invested than ever because we are all directly affected

The articles portray the benefits to allowing sixteen-year-olds to vote. One of the advantages of the voting age decreasing is the increase in votes which would have a huge impact on the voting system: not only will it show how more citizens are getting involved but how younger people are paying attention and are familiarising