The Importance Of America's Voting Age

Political inactivity on the part of young Americans stems from one fundamental source -- a general cynicism of the American political process. This disdain for politics is further perpetuated by a lack of voter education and a needlessly archaic voting procedure that creates barriers to voting where they need not exist. While many of these existing problems can be rectified with relative ease through the implementation of programs such as Internet voting and better voter education, such programs create only a partial solution.

In the article “Takoma Park 16-year-old Savors his History-Making Moment at the Polls,” written by Annys Shin, the author focuses on whether or not lowering the voting age from 18 is a good idea towards politics, by looking at the benefits and the disadvantages of both sides. In 2013, the city of Takoma Park was the first to lower the voting age to 16 and change the 26th Amendment in their municipal. Ben Miller and other 16- and 17-year-olds were capable of stepping into a booth and casting their vote at the Takoma Park Community Center. Allowing this age group to cast a vote will lead more teenagers to vote than their older peers, it will get them into the habit of voting for the rest of their lives, and it will also increase their personal

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.

I belive that before se set out to make major changes to the voter laws, such as changing the voter age requirment, new programes should be rolled out in an attempt to increase younger voter turnout fist. For example, use of social media to target younger voters. More political ingagment with a younger age group would help build on itself as polititions engage and take up issues that matter to yonger voters, thus incressing young voter turnout, and thus raising the value of younger voters to polititions seeking ideas and votes to be elected or re-elected. a prime example is how effective it was for Bill Clintons campaign during the 90's when he appealed to young voters by going on "MTV."

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.

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.

It seems as though the younger population of voters have all grown up in a world where they have been influenced to believe that their one vote will not make a difference, and therefore they do not bother to take the time out of their busy schedules to cast their meaningless vote. In the last presidential election, only one out of four citizens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four casted their vote (“Is the System broken?”). The opinion that one vote will not make a difference appears to be directly respondent to the younger generation of voters. This generation needs to be educated on the difference that one vote can make.

“Young people are interested in politics, and do have faith in the democratic process. Nonetheless, the political system and the established parties and politicians that dominate it, are together failing to

Why vote? This is a major question among many young Americans today. America's youth, does not take the time to read articles, observe the news, or pay attention to presidential debates and campaigns due to their busy schedules. This creates two problems. First, young voters have little knowledge of current issues in the election. Also as a result, they are unaware of the importance of voting. Each presidential election stirs up an old controversy of whether to vote or not to vote. There are many young people who think that voting is not important; I believe that it is. By voting you are exercising your right as an American to voice your opinion, and young Americans need to become aware of this.

When you live in the United States you cannot vote until you are eighteen years old, but why eighteen? Why not sixteen, which is when you are considered old enough to be trusted behind the wheel, or thirteen which is when you are no longer considered a “child”, but are now a “teenager”? Why can a sixteen year old drive around, yet they can’t vote on who is going to be running the country in which they live? If teenagers had more of a say in what was happening in the government wouldn’t that make them want to understand more about the government and how it works? Why should they care about politics when they know they can’t do anything to change the problems anyway? If they were given a chance to share their opinion wouldn’t that engage them

Recent studies have shown that voting rates amongst youths ages 18 to 24 have seen a decrease from 50.9 percent in 1964 to an all time low of 38.0 percent in 2012 (Young-Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964–2012, www.census.gov). The recent record breaking decline in political participation amongst young adults can be linked to the overwhelming media portrayals of government, political issues being aimed towards older citizens, and the lack of information on the importance of voting made available to lower education students. The constant slew of information

Without an ability to vote, teens seemingly have no impact on politics. Though in reality the statement is nowhere near the truth, it is still perceived as accurate amongst teens.

Voting is a “valuable privilege” (Miller), that many eligible voters take for granted. Voter apathy is an issue in America. Many eligible voters decide not to vote either because of political disagreements, political fatigue, or because of the registration process. These eligible voters are adults, they are mature and although there can not be sufficient time in the day for them to vote, it is in a way their duty to do so but they still don’t do it. Teenagers should not be given the opportunity to vote. Although there are several of teenagers that are mature and can make an appropriate decision, there are also teenagers that are not mature enough. Teenagers should not be given the right to vote until they are eighteen because of the lack

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.