The voting age has been a controversial topic for years now. In Indiana, voters have to be 18 before the next General, Municipal, or Special Education to register to vote. Other states allow you to be younger than 18 when you register as long as the voter is 18 when they are actually voting (“Voter Registration Age Requirements by State.”). However, whether or not the voting age should remain 18 or go down to 16 has been debated and still remains questionable. Although this is quite the controversial topic, many people side with the decision to lower the voting age to 16 and argue that there are several pros. One of these pros is that teenagers spend more than half of their time in a classroom setting. While emerged in this setting, they …show more content…
According to Emma Debonno and Dennis Meaney, teenagers lack the “temperament” to vote. They are not allowed to consume alcohol, tobacco products, etc. so many say they should not be allowed to vote either. Not only are these items prohibited from teenagers, but they do not have a lot of experience in politics like adults that have been voting for years do. These teenagers’ lack of experience makes them vulnerable to outside opinion. People such as parents, guardians, and teachers may be biasing the views of politics for teenagers. Although they might not do it on purpose, these teenagers grow up around the adults and hear their views on the political world. Teenagers need to be able to grow and have their own opinions so that they are not manipulated by the opinions of outsiders. (Debonno, Meaney). Not only are the teenagers at risk of being swayed, but recently the number of young voters has decreased according to Vote.com, and many say that if teenagers are given the opportunity to vote, they would not utilize it. Not only are students uneducated about the candidates that are running for various offices, but they are not educated about general political terms. This would result in an inaccurate count of votes. Teenagers would be likely to go into a voting facility and choose a candidate at …show more content…
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
By allowing 16 years old to vote, it could make them more interested in politics. Before voting, they will want to investigate about each party and the policies they have. Which in turn could will make them more interested in politics. There is an urgent need for younger people to get involved in politics and by lowering the voting age this could create a new wave of politicians. By allowing 16 years old to vote, schools will have to teach politics in school and go into greater depth about politics.
The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969 during the Vietnam war, because it was only fair to those aged 18 - 20 dying for their country have a say in how the country is run. Therefore if 16 year olds are now capable of
Imagine, a world where the young people had a voice in American politics! Probably, a scary thought to some adults. However, what if young people did have a voice, in American politics. In this case, the right to vote. The right to vote has been in an issue, in our culture for years. From people being the opposite sex, to people of a different skin tone. The right to vote has always been the issue, of who could vote. The voting age in America is 18, but the question is, should it be lowered to 15. I do agree the voting age should be lowered to 15. The right to vote is an important right, it would promote political participation and there are no wrong votes.
“Even a small amount could make a difference” ( Miller). Thus saying that those 90 preadolescents alone could incidentally cause either miss-representation or unjust voting; thus, these kids will not be able to politically identify themselves based on their beliefs since most will be heavily influenced by both their parents’ and their peers’ desires and beliefs. Although an increase in voting is needed, lowering the age range is not the answer. Politicians could try other methods such as “having an issue on the ballot, and having the resident decide,” says Schultz. Simply lowering the voting age to say, “ we were the first” will not justify the consequences. So overall, no, sixteen and seventeen year olds should not be allowed to
In the 26th amendment the phrase“ Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” became a slogan for a youth voting right movement. There was a controversy about lowering the age to vote from 21 to 18 because of military reasons, so president Franklin D. Roosevelt lowered the voting age to 18 for the youth to be involved in helping America. But today there is controversy about decreasing the voting age even lower. Lowering the voting age can affect everyone in negative ways. They are still too young to make mature decisions about life especially deciding the future of the country. Lowering the age gives the responsibility for impulsive, immature kids to choose the fate of the future president; therefore, lowering the age thirteen will not benefit the country.
Why should eighteen year old teenagers be able to vote? I personally think the voting age should be changed to twenty one years old. For example, the 2016 Presidential Election: Trump VS. Hillary. During the election, Trump discussed more than political issues, while Hillary discussed more issues with Trump rather than political issues. A lot of eighteen year old's didn't vote for Trump because they do not care about politics and about what's happening in our country. They focused one the non political subjects such as his racial remarks, comments about women, and his incredible urge to build a wall.
If the government allowed sixteen-year-olds to vote, they would build in them the habit of going out in elections at a young age. Eventually, that will result in increasing the overall voter turnout as the population ages. Middle adolescents would go out and practise their right out of habit. Consequently, the country will be more democratic. Moreover, politicians will care more about middle adolescents knowing that their voices count. Therefore, better services and advanced programs as well as critical wise decisions will take place creating a better environment for them. Overall, getting sixteen-year-olds into the habit of voting will definitely turn the table.
“Teens, you need to believe in your voices, and adults, you need to listen.” (Simmonds) If we have a voice or a saying then we will be taken into account; in other words, we will make a big difference. Even more important, our wants and needs will be taken in consideration to politicians because they will be ones wanting to gain votes from us since our voice will be heard and it won’t be downgraded like it has always been. The voting rates will increase if teens are allowed to vote. According to the article “Top Ten Reasons to Lower the Voting Age", “One’s political leanings are influenced by their community and their family, and it is likely young voters will vote in much the same way as their parents, not because they are coerced to do so, but because of shared values.” In other words don’t stress about it adults we aren't going to be making absurd decisions. “If we let stupid adults vote, why not let smart youth vote?”(“Top Ten Reasons”) With this in count we will have more possibilities to change and to shape our future because we will be one of the most important
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
In our current generation sixteen has shown to be a reckless, careless, and very low political point of view. I personally belive for sixteen being the age to vote would be a destructive change in the economey. Me being almost eighteen is even hard to have any perspective who should run or city,state, or even country. Therefore I strongley disagree with sixteen year old citizens voting. Being eighteen is a huge diplomatic age for a young man/women. I feel its a privelage earned with time and experiance. Time and experiance to me is very important to be able to vote. To understand and have a open perspective on politics should be an expectation to vote. The age of sixteen is a stressful age. With school,driving, and sports being an everyday
The idea that 16 year-olds should vote has been discussed and freshly taken back into consideration. It is not the initial time it has been recommended the United States should modify its guidelines concerning the age one can vote, drink alcohol or join the military. Until 1920, only white men were given the right to vote. There were decades of fighting for the right to vote to be given to African Americans and women. So clearly, the right to vote for all hasn’t always been an established human right in America. Teen drivers have historically been the most reckless drivers. If we can’t confidently trust a 16 year old to drive a vehicle, how is it a good idea to give them the right to vote on the highest political positions in the country? It
The current voting age of 18 should not be lower to 16 because youngers have other interest rather than politics, it decrease the percentage of voting participation, and leads to a bad influence from adults in youngers' decisions.Thereby, there would be a negative impact in the elections.
Teens are more smarter than what they get credit for. 16-year olds can register in the military which comes with the idea of young people and their vulnerability to die while out in combat. “Aged 16, a teenager can get married or enter a civil partnership and consent to a sexual relationships, pay income tax and national insurance, become a company director, join the army or a trade union and give their full consent to life or death medical procedures.” (The Guardian View on Lowering the Voting Age to 16). Teenagers are able to take many responsibilities, voting should be one of
I believe the voting age should remain at 18. Because lowering the age will expose the lack of maturity, life experience,and knowledge of our youth.
Youth is evolving today in the modern day 21st century. We can communicate with others with ease, and we are enjoying our lives. We are becoming more informed using social media and smartphones. One reason why the age should decrease is that youth are very similar to adults and enjoy almost the same rights and freedoms, as well as consequences. An article by Youth Association member Jamuna Carroll says: “Because American teenagers pay taxes, follow laws, and are charged as adults when they commit serious crimes, they should have a voice in determining the the leaders who make the policies they must live under.” (Carroll) Youth in recent times have the same rights and consequences as adults, so they should reasonably be allowed to vote. The new generations of today are starting to be much more mature, independent and free also. Adults will start to realize this and perhaps change their