Should 16 Year Olds Be Able?

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.

Voting is a right that was given to us by the democracy government system. I believe that when it comes to voting everybody participate in their civil duty much like jury duty, or doing your taxes if they are of age. Instead of giving U.S citizens the option to vote, making it mandatory to vote will ensure that everybody will have a say into how

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.

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

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.

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.

Though youth voter numbers have fallen over the years, it is no indication that youths are becoming less politically agile. Youths are not voting but increasingly getting involved in non-voting political activities. They are boycotting products, attending demonstrations and signing petitions. This indicates that political thought and concern continues to flare within Canadians who do not queue up at polling booths on election days. General apathy towards political parties and leaders and growing perception that politics does not address their needs is keeping voters away. It is therefore for the government, politicians and parties to take steps to rectify the situation. They need to demonstrate greater understanding of youth issues and concerns to win their confidence.

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.

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.

Voting is a right that all Americans have once hitting the age of 18 regardless of race, gender, or financial status. However, not everyone chooses to exercise these rights or even fully understands how to use them properly. Voting is not as simple as just going to a ballot box and checking the box for the person whom had the most signs and television commercials. Being a voter means that one has an influence over the government and who makes important decisions regarding the nation or state. However, if one does not know all of the details about who they are voting for, they could be voting blindly. It is important to do research and make factual decisions about who should be elected. If one is not fully informed, than the less suitable candidate could be elected into office due to a lack of information. All of the information necessary to make a strong decision is available, it just depends on whether or not Americans go through the effort to locate it and use it. Voting for the most desired and suitable candidate is important whether it is congressional district, senate, or presidency.

It’s also thought that lowering the limit will encourage civic-mindedness at an earlier age and establish an interest in the political system, which will be continued throughout a person’s life.Scotland’s positive experience of including 16- and 17-year-olds in the 2014 independence referendum led to the lowering of the voting age for local and Holyrood elections.

On the other hand, others argue that 16-year-old shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they’re too young, don’t have taxes, and they won’t benefit the voter turnout. Many people find young teenagers very immature and rebellious. Crowley and Denver in their study, “Votes at 16? The case against” note, “as Peter the Hermit said in the 11th century: ‘The young people have no reverence for their parents; they are impatient of all restraint; they talk as if they alone know everything and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness for them,’”(57). This source implies that teenagers only care about themselves and are very disrespectful to their elders, so how are they mature enough to vote? Another argument is that if teenagers pay taxes, then they

At age 16 we are old enough to pay tax, get married and have kids, join the armed forces, pay adult fares on public transport, and be employed full time. we don't have to go to school, and our parents are no longer entirely in charge of our life. But there are still some things we can't do, and one of them is vote. Is it unfair and outdated to make young people wait until they are 18 before they can vote? Is it stopping them from getting involved in politics as much as they would like? Or is it sensible to make voting something important, something we need to wait for? If you are 18 or over on the date of a general or local election, and you are on the Electoral Register, then you will be able to vote. You vote in

16 year-olds are not educated enough to make a decision on who should run our country. For example, at Central High School, a student cannot take a Government class until their senior year, unless the student is graduating early. Therefore, the student would not get a concept of politics unless they had been previously educated by an outside source. The average 16 year-old is either a sophomore or junior. If the voting age was moved to 16, not only would the teenager be uneducated for their first election, but they would not be educated until their senior year. Along with the lack of a political education at school, the student has to endure outside opinions that could potentially swat the student’s political opinion. These outside sources, such as parental views, TV ads, friends’ opinions, etc., make it hard for the inexperienced teenagers to have a mind of their own (Debono, Meaney). The average teenager grows up in a household with a family; a family that has views of their. These views have been instilled in their lives from birth. Once this has happened, the teenager’s first response to anything is what they’ve always know and grown up with. If the voting age stayed the same, it would allow students to take the Government course and form opinions of their

Most of the 16 and 17 year olds have felonys because of something they did and that eliminates them from vosting until the age of 18. Most contries have lowered there voting age and turned out great. Knowing that Austria is the country with the highest voter participation even with people 16 and older are voting to. People 16 and 17 years old would like to vote as well as others knowing the know the parting their in and the ideas their givng out. America ranks at