Should Eighteen Year Olds Be Able To Vote?

540 Words2 Pages

A big debate in our society is how old one should be to vote. Many people think that children at the age of thirteen years and older should be able to vote. Others agree that children do not really have a voice in this country and should be able to voice their opinion. I seem to disagree, even though I am only fourteen years old. Teenagers under eighteen years old are too young and immature. When they are eighteen, they are more mature and educated. The age of eighteen is a perfect age for voting since most teenagers and now adults and can be independent upon themselves. The Constitution states that, "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" (Unknown 26). This was decided as an appropriate age for United States citizens to vote. If children and teenagers were to vote, they would be influenced by their parents. If a parent is Republican, then their children will believe that that party is better and they will vote for that party. Parents may also use their children to get more votes for their party. This would be possible since many teenagers will probably not be interested in voting. …show more content…

If the voting age was lowered, them the youth voting rate would probably be even lower. Most teenagers don't even know much about politics till they take a United States government course which will usually be when they are sixteen or seventeen years old. Sure, there are mature teenagers who vote not because their friend is voting for one particular candidate, but because they care about our country. Many teenagers will abuse voting, though. "One bad apple can spoil the bunch," is a good example for this instance. If teenagers were to leave their homes and get jobs and try to support themselves, just think of how disastrous that would

Open Document