Should the voting age be lowered to 16? This is one of the most controversial topics in the U.S. today. Especially for all of the 16 year-olds that are not allowed to vote thanks to this nation's laws. 16 year-olds are allowed to work, get married, and even move out of their parents place if they want to yet they can’t vote. This is especially unjust to those who have knowledge about politics and could even use their vote to help this country. Which is why 16 year-olds should be allowed to vote.
Generally, most 16 year-olds have jobs. If 16 year-olds are allowed to work then they should be given the right to vote. Working shows responsibility it means your willing to sacrifice time out of your day to provide for yourself or others which many adults do. Yet, despite so many teens doing what many adults do every day they’re still not being treated like one. Enabling a teen to vote when many perform tasks such as paying rent or working like many adults is unjust.
…show more content…
Yet again teens are being treated like children who can’t be trusted to make any decisions for themselves. There are 16 year-olds being accepted into ivy league and private universities across the country. This shows that the intelligence level of a teen is much higher than the average person thinks. Yet, 16 year-olds still can’t vote because they are limited by age. What kind of country do we live in where something as ludicrous as your age should limit you to vote. Intelligence should be the deciding factor when it comes to voting not your
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.
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?
The Voting Age Must be Lowered for Democracy to Exist in America. Imagine for a moment that senior citizens were denied the right to vote. Imagine senior citizens being thought of as too incompetent to vote because some senior citizens are senile. Can you imagine such a large percentage of the American public being denied the right to vote – simply on account of their age? It doesn't happen in America, right?
Injustice represents a lack of fairness or justice. The theme of injustice is established in the book “The Hate You Give”. There are numerous individual examples that can indicate injustice, such as when Khalil got killed because of the officer 115 assumption. Additionally, Starr’s childhood best friend got shot in a drive-by shooting for no reason. Furthermore, Starr’s dad (Maverick) was asked to face down on the ground for nothing.
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
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.
Teens are old enough at 16 and 17 to have photo IDs and be tried as adults for serious crimes. It's a double standard to deny them the right to vote while giving them the same penalties as adults. (Should the Voting Age be Lowered? Teens are unfairly treated if they aren’t given the representation of a vote. “Just like all other Americans, young Americans pay taxes. In fact, they pay a lot of taxes. According to the IRS, teens pay an estimated $9.7 billion dollars in sales taxes alone, not to mention many millions of taxes on income.” (The Pros and Cons of Lowering the Voting Age). Teens can make a claim for representation when they’re taxed by a government that they have no say in. “Politicians represent various constituencies. As of today, young people are no one's constituency. Why should politicians care about the needs and wishes of youth when they have no ability to vote for or against them?” (The Pros and Cons of Lowering the Voting Age). Teen’s interests should be protected just like those of every other citizen. That doesn’t negate their inability to make rational voting decisions, however.
Teens are expected to follow the law, right? So why don’t we have any say in making it? The legal voting age in the United States should be changed from 18 to 16 years old. Teenagers want to display their voices, gain civic responsibility, and choose how their government runs.
The voting age should not be lowered because teenagers have not fully matured and there is no proven benefit of gaining teenage voters.
When should a young person cast his or her vote in an election When it comes to elections no other world power can match a United States Presidential election, or even a general election, with so many people eager to vote and have a say in what way the country will be shaped and how the next four years of a presidential term will change the way American lives are for that period of time. Now it is easy to say that you must be eighteen in order to vote, but looking at it from the point of view of someone who could not vote in the primary election, but was able to vote in the actual presidential election; it stands to reason that someone like that should have been able to vote in the primary if they voted in the presidential. Who does that really
I think the voting age should not be lowered to 13. Right now the minimum voting age is set at 18 years. When the US was founded, the minimum age to vote was 21 years, but after debates it was lowered to 18 years. When people reach 21, they are considered to be adults. Currently there are people talking about whether to lower the voting age to 13.
The fate of our country depends on people voting for a president wisely, but immature 16 year olds should not be a part of it. Additionally, those two years give 16 year olds time to mature. In fact, 16 year olds can be easily persuaded to vote for someone by friends or family. Also, if they cannot be apart of legally buying drugs, then why should they be able to vote?
It is important for people to vote, but age is a conflict. Originally the voting age was twenty one, then it was lowered to eighteen, which is the current voting age. Now the government and the people of the United States have started to think about lowering the voting age to sixteen. Sixteen year olds are still influenced by other people’s opinions and are not thinking with their own minds. Many sixteen year olds can be immature.
Imagine a world where the young people had a voice, in American politics! Probably a scary thought to some adults. However, as society begins to change, what if young people around the age of 15 had a voice in our politics. Specifically, being the right to vote. The right to vote has been, in American history for years.
You live in 1971 and have just turned 18. You have also just been deployed to fight for the United States in the Vietnam War. Is it fair that you can be deployed to fight for your country but still can’t legally vote? Because of this problem, the United States lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18. But, the U.S.A.’s voting age still isn’t low enough. Teens and kids that care about what happens to their country still can’t vote for what they believe in. Several countries, including Argentina and Brazil, have already lowered their voting ages to 16, allowing teenagers to present their opinions about problems in their countries.