Preview

shoudl 16 year olds be aloud to vote?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
379 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
shoudl 16 year olds be aloud to vote?
When the 26th amendment was passed, it gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. Today, nearly thirty-five years later, the question has become "should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote?" Of course the general consensus of youth is for this option, yet a surprising amount of adults are supporting the movement as well. In order to understand why lowering the voting age would even be considered, it is necessary to examine why the 26th amendment was passed in the first place. The United States was in the throes of the Vietnam War and protests were underway throughout the nation. Draftees into the armed services were any male over the age of 18. These young men were allowed, even forced, to fight and die for their country, but they were unable to vote. The Congress attempted to right this wrong in 1970 by passing an extension to the 1965 Voting Rights Act that gave the vote to all persons 18 or older, in all elections, on all levels. The supporters of lowering the voting age to 16 are of course "piggy-backing" off of the basis for the 26th amendment. One supporter, Margot Adler, makes the comparison between fighting at age 18 to driving and other responsibilities given at 16, "16 year-olds can drive in most states; if they commit serious crimes, they are tried as adults. If they can be punished as adults, why don't they have the rights of adults? Despite the close vote in the recent presidential election, it appears that only about half the potential voters (51 percent) exercised their right to vote. That figure is only marginally better than it was a few years ago. According to official Census Bureau and Federal Election Commission figures, only 49 percent of those of voting age participated in the presidential election in 1996. This follows the trend of a steady decline in voting during the 20th Century, which began with a 75 percent turnout in the 1902 presidential election. American voting habits are particularly striking when compared with those of other democratic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Civics Dynamic DBQ

    • 838 Words
    • 1 Page

    to the war at 18, it was only fair to let them vote. The 26th amendment is an example of how…

    • 838 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ch 39 APUSH

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages

    To pacify America’s youth they shortened the dilatability period and lowered the voting age to eighteen.…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Response The article “ Kids are kids until they commit crimes ” by Marjie Lundstrom talks about how the under-eighteen crowds are considered kids .Yet when they commit a crime or start acting inadequately they start considering them as adults and they start receiving the consequences an adult would have . Many people do not consider this fair .That is why Ron Wilson ,Democratic State Rep. of Houston suggested to lowering the voting age to fourteen . He also said that “if you want to throw the adult book at kids”(paragraph 8) and give them the consequences of an adult then they can be able to vote too and do things an adult does. This article also talks about how people have created an image that teenagers are something to…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1971 the united states ratified the 26th amendment to the constitution granting to vote at the age of 18 20 years old.The 26th amendment was the fastest to be ratified in U.S history.i think it should be lowered to 13 because 13 year olds should have a say.At 13 your a teenager so you…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The latest expansion to suffrage came with the adoption of the 26th Amendment in 1971. It provides that no State can set the minimum age for voting at more than 18 years of age. So, those 18 years of age or older now have the right to vote. Before the added amendment to our Constitution, the accepted voting age among the States was 21. Only four states had a lower voting age before the 26th Amendment.…

    • 370 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After President Franklin D. Roosevelt had lowered the minimum age for being drafted into the military to the young age of eighteen from twenty-one, many youth voting rights movements created a slogan that is now infamously known around the United States. “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” was heard…

    • 1648 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In loco parentis v

    • 262 Words
    • 1 Page

    1. Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – Lowers the voting age to 18. If students can be sent to war they should be treated like adults.…

    • 262 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Before this topic can be argued, a timeline of sorts is needed to explain everything. It starts off with Congress decided to lower the age in which someone could vote from twenty-one to eighteen,…

    • 1582 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article, “No, We Shouldn't Lower the Voting Age to 16” by David Davenport, he states that the lowering of the voting age would negatively affect the country. I agree with Davenport, but he failed to mention the fact that teens lack the life experience, motivation and maturity to vote. Society talks about the age of maturity and responsibility, but they send many different messages. At age 16, teens are allowed to drive and work, but they aren't allowed to vote. At age 18, young adults are allowed to serve and die for their country, but aren't allowed to drink.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the polls by Annys Shin it talks about the proposal of letting 16 year olds to vote. I believe they shouldn't be allowed to vote. They shouldn't be allowed simply because most 16 year olds do not really care about politics, nothing motivates them to vote and even 18 year olds have low voter turnouts. The 16 year olds I know do not care about politics that much either.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    26th Amendment

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The extended debate on lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 first started during World War II and escalated sharply during the Vietnam War. The phrase “old enough to fight, old enough to vote” is traced back to the WWII decision to lower the draft age to 18, meaning the majority of those drafted lacked the right to vote.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Rod Powers from (The balance,), 28.2% of the casualties from the War on Terror were between 18 and 20 years old. If 18 year olds can risk their lives for others, why can't they drink? 18 year olds should be allowed to drink because they are legally considered adults, they could be taught in how to drink responsibly, and it would take away the thrill of drinking illegally. At the age of 18, people are legally considered an adult.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some people claim lowering the voting age will help, but in reality it won’t. They say that it will increase younger voters. But 16 yr olds aren’t going to vote without a knowledge of politics. They also claim that the country needs more voters. The problem with that is you are putting the responsibility of much greater power than 16 yr olds can handle into their hands. Who knows what they’ll do with it!…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 26th Amendment

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The 26th amendment helped further balance the difference in equality between 21 and 18 year olds by allowing the latter to vote. The 26th amendment states “ The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”1 A large number of individuals fought for this amendment; the amendment provided for significant popular consent of the American democracy.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vote Persuasive Speech

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Oh sixteen. That magical age that we fervently look forward to, imagining the the new found freedoms that are to greet us..The age of going to parties every friday, driving our friends around in a shiny new Toyota Prius, and finally having our parents not breathing down our necks every second. There are so many responsibilities and freedoms that are given when one turns 16, but there is on crucial power that we are not entrusted with. The vote. While many countries around the world have lowered their voting age, Canada remains a country that has not. Teenage suffrage is a controversial issue that has created many a debate throughout the years. Both adults and students remain divided in their opinions on the voting age.But when deeply considering this issue, it is easy to see that lowering the vote can make a positive impact on Canada by…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays