The voting age should stay at 18. There are many reasons for this, but three of the most important are outside influences on teens, a distinct lack of caring in teens 18 and under, and the desire for a better system of voting. A large concern for voters under 18 is that they, myself included, can be easily influenced without even knowing it. This would put additional pressure on high school teachers, parents, and other well meaning adults. Politics is a divisive enough issue without bringing younger kids into the mix. The current system in place for high schools is to take politics in the students' sophomore years, which is typically ages 15-16. These teachers have immense power to bias voting towards their favored candidate, even perhaps without realizing it. Familial fighting over politics is …show more content…
The second article brings an interesting argument: that lowering the voting age would instantly increase the number of voters. While this may be factually true - it certainly cannot decrease the amount of voters - it seems misleading. Having younger, impressionable teens able to vote will not help the younger demographic. It seems far more likely to result in these young voters parroting someone else's agenda without doing any research of their own. It has been demonstrated that there is a lack of voter participation in younger voters. There are a likely causes for this apathy, but perhaps the most substantial one is that younger adults tend to feel that their individual opinion does not matter. As the first article clearly states, voter participation in the 18-24 age group was only at 38% in 2012, compared to 70% in older voters. While I do not agree that a low voting percentage is cause for taking away the right to vote, as the first article implies, it is still a massive difference, and one that should be taken into consideration when it comes to voter
It’s very unsettling to know that there was a six percent decrease in young voters (ages 18-29) in the 2012 election compared to 2008 (Circle Youth data). In 2007 the National Conference of State Legislatures publicly released a report and data set on voter turnout in democratic countries. This is a quote from that report titled Getting out the Vote, “It should be noted that in 1972, 18-year-olds were added to the eligible voting population, thus decreasing the percentages. Nonetheless, voter tu...
In “You’re 16, You’re Beautiful and You’re a Voter,” author Anya Kamenetz states her belief that the voting age should be lowered to sixteen. Kamenetz gives several premises to her argument.
Considering the delegates that are currently running for office, a voter should have a vast level of understanding regarding the intentions of each and every candidate. Arguing whether to raise or lower the age limit for the right to vote has raised many speculations as to how it would affect the economy. There are pros and cons within both sides of the argument, but any decisions made by the powers that be will have an adverse effect on today’s society if it is placed in the hands of the younger generation. Therefore, raising the voting age to twenty-one is a better way of making sure that voters are more aware and would be more equipped to making a more sound decision rather than lowering
As becoming the age of 18, people has the chance to start voting. People 18-24 have a lower percentage of voting than other ages. This is because the youth vote has changed over time and the reasons why the youth vote doesn’t want to vote. I will vote in the upcoming elections when I turn of
The age at which one is eligible to vote has been a source of heated discussions and debates. Should the voting age be lowered? Should it remain at age 18?
If letting 16-17 year old citizens vote could have change the turnout of voters in this past election, there would have been a difference in choosing who the next president. I know for sure that if the voting age was 16 there would have been more people at the polls then ever. I agree with having the legal voting age to 16 because there are a lot of students at this age that are focusing more on how they could change the fate of their home.
Today in America, less than half of young voters between the ages of 18 and 24 vote (TheBestColleges.org). What most of these new adults fail to realize, is that their government depends on them to vote and elect new leaders to represent their country. Many of them make excuses to avoid voting, when really, they benefit most from voting.
The voting age must be lowered if America is to be a free and democratic nation, and youth are to be granted their human right to take part in the business of their nation by being allowed to vote. Works Cited D. G. The "Elective Election" Education Week on the Web! 10 Feb. 1998. http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-11/13boxh11.
Voting participation is one of the most common controversies in today’s society. Thom File of the Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964-2012 states that, “Voting rates, which represent the number of voters relative to a given population or subpopulation, have varied across recent election cycles with the general outcome being that voting rates increase with age. In every presidential election since 1964, young voters between the ages of 18 through 24 have consis-tently voted at lower rates than all other age groups, although young-adult voting rates have fluctuated from one election to another (Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections,
In Carrie Kirby's article "Why Students Want to Lower the Voting Age" published in the October 7th, 2015 edition of The Atlantic, Kirby looks into the arguments being made by student activists in San Francisco who are trying to lower the voting age to 16. She begins by mentioning Oliver York, a 16-year old who has an answer to practically any question one could raise about allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote. York argues that this case is similar to those which occurred in the early 1900s in the fight for women's suffrage, any how many had dismissed the thought because they would "just vote the way [their] husbands would vote." Jillian Wu, another 16-year old, points out that 44% of Scottish teens voted differently than their parents during
The voting age requirement was changed to 18 because it was believed that if you were old enough to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War at 18, then you should be allowed to vote.
Although there are 44 million eligible young voters ages 18-29, in 2012 only 45% of them voted. These young people make up one fifth, or 21%, of the eligible voting population, yet they often do not vote. Voting is a tremendous gift. Young people in many other countries around the world have to fight to gain this right. In America, voting is often taken for granted by all age groups, but the youth take it for granted the most. In this paper, the reason why young people do not vote will be explored and solutions as to how to get them to vote will be proposed.
16 and 17-year-olds cannot legally gamble, get a tattoo, buy alcohol, appear in an adult court, and many other things, so why should they be able to vote? It just doesn't make sense. It's inconsistent. 72% of respondents in the 2010 Australian Election Study stated that the voting age should "definitely stay at 18", so this proves that many people agree the voting age should stay at 18.
The book Is Voting for Young People? By Martin P. Wattenberg is an interesting read on the reasons as to why the younger generations that are legally allowed to vote are not showing up to the polls on voting day. Wattenberg explores how and where the younger generations are even gaining their political knowledge and how that is effecting their desire and/or feeling of obligation to vote. In the following paragraphs, you will get to know and understand some of the evidence as to why so many young people do not vote according to Wattenberg as well as my opinions on some of his arguments and claims. Wattenberg first explores the effects that reading the newspaper has on voters today.
Should teens should be allowed to vote? Teens should be allowed to vote because they want to know about the world. They want to have a say in what is happening in their community because they have really good ideas . They will also be able to learn how to make good and smart decisions for the future. Barthakurm said, “ When a person grows up their brain has actually shrunk...but when your 13, your brain is ¾ of the way done being grown.”