Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Voting Age

Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
Are sixteen year olds, mature enough to make responsible decisions? Are they prepared to live with the decisions they make? Yes, is the answer to both these questions. Headcount.org states, “In 1971, at the peak of the youth protests of the Baby Boom, the United States passed the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years of age.” Now states, are looking to repeat that, and lower the age even more. Some states have already lowered the age, but not all states. Takoma Park, Maryland is one of the few states who do have the voting age lowered. Some people believe that the voting age should be lowered down to 16, first because these teens are mature enough, second, they hear about politics through the media and learn about it at school. Lastly, they will be adults when the politicians are making decisions affecting their lives, these youth should have a say in it.
To begin, sixteen year olds are mature enough to
vote. Voteat16.ie says, if they can have a full-time job, drive a vehicle, be liable for tax, can leave school, then they are old enough to be entrusted with the civic responsiblity of voting. The voting age is now eighteen but, there isn’t a big difference between sixteen and eighteen year olds. James Fraust states at Debate.org, “I believe that sixteen year old kids aren’t mature enough to vote.” He thinks because they pay attention to peer pressure, are lazy, and aren’t experienced adults, that they should not vote. Some of those things might be true for some teens, but not all are that way. Kids who are gifted don’t always give into peer pressure, these kids have a lot of opinions to. Gifted kids tend to be more mature, and sometimes are more knowledgeable about certain subjects, but anyone who wants to vote should be allowed, no matter if they are gifted or not. Just like adults, they are not required to vote, and if a teen does not want to, they will not be obliged. Also, the election process has a lot of peer pressure in it, the politicians are sometimes using peer pressure, good and bad, to convince people to vote for them. Since sixteen year olds go through peer pressure in everyday life, they will know whether or not to give in to the politicians and vote for the best candidate.
Next, these teens hear about politics in school and on social media. When these teens are going through life, they go to school, in school they learn about elections, politicians, who the president is, and the differences between republicans and democrats. Everyone today knows who Donald Trump is, he has many different jokes made toward him, about the way he looks. Now because of that kids know who he is, even though they are jokes, they teach teens about politics without them knowing they are learning. Teenink.com states, “Teens will vote really well. They have the knowledge. Youth will vote well. They are not like the people who vote for Mickey Mouse and Britney Spears. They can make a change. Teens have the necessary knowledge to vote.” This is all true, with all the things teens learn in school they have a very good background full of information. They won’t spend their time voting for stupid things, they will vote for the things that matter, like, national, regional, and local elections. Illya Somin at Washingtonpost.com states, “If a minor can pass a test of basic political knowledge (say, the political knowledge equivalent of the citizenship test administered to immigrants seeking naturalization), why shouldn’t he or she have the right to vote?” Not all schools provide good education on politics, but if there was some schools that do and people could pass this “test”, than they should be able to vote. But, then it is not fair to other teens in schools that are not as good in politic educations, so the reason they can not vote is because their school does not have the right education. This is a very complicated issue with many different answers, but those answers cause more problems.
Lastly, when these teens are adults the people they would have voted for would be there politicians. When that happens it is affecting the teens future, and the things that change, laws, will be new to the teens, which could cause problems. Youthrights.org says that, youth will be able to change and help influcence the things the polictians do, will, change. At Spectator.co.uk Carola Binney states, “The idea that, at 18, I would become an adult, and as an adult I would be able to vote, made perfect sense.” Even though what Carola Binney said makes sense, it says a lot about the voting and how it is just not fair. A lot of times when teens turn 18 they do not even want to vote, all the things they wanted to say when they were younger, does not feel important anymore. Those things they waited to say would have affected their future and made their adult lives easier, the way they wished to live there adulthood. That is why they should be able to vote, because everything they say when they are 16 will affect them in adulthood.
In conclusion, are these teens smart enough to make responsible decisions?
Are they prepared to live the decisions they make? Yes, is the answer to both these questions. The states are debating whether or not the voting age should be lowered again, to 16 years old. This decision should be made because, first, these teens are mature enough, they can have jobs, pay taxes, and leave school, then they should vote. Second, they hear about politics through the media and learn about it at school, with all the experience in school and social media, they learn new things, and have the knowledge to vote. Lastly, they will be adults when the politicians are making decisions affecting their lives, when teens turn to adults what they wanted to vote for, they feel does not matter anymore, so they decide not to change their future. Headcount.org states, “In 1971, at the peak of the youth protests of the Baby Boom, the United States passed the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years of
age.”