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Why the voting age should be lowered
Why the voting age should be lowered
Statement for lowering the voting age
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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 young as well as the older people of Canada seem to be in a deadlock. The question of if the federal government should or should not lower the voting age is a question debated surely around the dinner tables of families in Canada, as well as in the ranks of the government. Some people even suggest that the age needs to be raised. What would make people want the voting age to be lowered to an even lower age than the young adult age of 18? On the other hand how can the youth of Canada who have their own individual views be able to make a difference without being able to vote? Both sides provide for an intriguing look into the facts and resolutions for an appropriate way to either change the voting age or keep it the same. Throughout this paper I will look at and analyze the arguments of the youth who claim to be 'disenfranchised', as well as others who see the lowering of the voting age to be detrimental rather than an improvement to the Government of Canada's political process. In 1854, before Canada became a responsible government the only people allowed to vote were people who had a high value of land which they owned, and had a high income. Women and people with other ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs were also denied the right to vote. This did not mean that these people did not have their views and beliefs on who and what they wanted in their government but rather they were denied the right. These laws have changed since then drastically and Canada has become a democratic country (rule by the people). However, the frustration of not being able to vote and support their ideals and politicians does live on in the hearts and minds of thousands of young Canadians under the age of eighteen. The...
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.
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?
It has become a growing trend in the 1990's that college students do not take advantage of their right to vote and to take part in the democratic system. In fact, only one out of every three individuals in the 18 to 24 age group cast a ballot in the 1996 presidential election. College students ranked as the least represented demographic" (http://www.idsnews.com/ news/2000.07.31/campus/2000.07.31.students.html). Students do not want to vote for many different reasons. They are considered apathetic by society, but this isn't really the case. In actuality, students feel that politicians turn them away. Most importantly, students do not vote because they feel that they can't make a difference. Also, distance from their voting districts has been a problem for many people. Another major issue for students is that they are just too busy and don't make time to follow politics closely. In polling freshman at Manhattanville College, I discovered that all these are true. The effects of this may be catastrophic. Politicians need to start including and interesting the people of my generation in order to keep democracy thriving.
Should We Really Give Children the Vote? Sixteen year old Vita Wallace is an activist for children’s rights. In her argument, “Give children the vote,” she attempts to show that an injustice has been made to citizens of the United States. Wallace’s major claim, or thesis (McFadden, 2003), is that citizens under the age of 18 shouldn’t be denied the right to vote on account of age.
Pam Belluck discusses and strongly criticizes voting age in her article " Sixteen Candles, but Few Blazing a Trail to the Ballot Box". She starts by referring to a day of a regular sixteen year old girl, who was preparing for a musical, then going out to eat with her boyfriend and last visiting the polls to vote. With the use of this type of claims and a very sarcastic tone throughout her writing, Belluck develops her position, arguing that young voters “lack of competence, maturity and experience”(par. 6) and for this reasons they are not prepared to vote properly. During her argument she exposes different opinions in this controversial manner of voting, describing the actions of supporters that believe that the young generations should be
"Ten Questions, One Easy Answer: Q&A on Children’s Suffrage." ACS: Association for Children’s Suffrage. 16 Feb. 1998. http://www.brown.edu/Students/Association_for_Childrens_Suffrage/. The "Voting" is a. ASFAR: Americans for a Society Free of Age Restrictions.
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,
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.
So what is it that differs between young registered voters to vote or not, certainly there are youth out there who cares and go out of their way to vote. Many high school students are excited when they are near the age of voting, yet many failed to actually do so. The first partial finding would be that young voters feel left out of the politics they are voting for. Priscilla Lewis Southwell arg...
A eighteen year old boy was allowed to vote for a president but he couldn't smoke. Eighteen year old should be able to buy tobacco. When you're eighteen you can vote,Join the military, and be treated as an adult for a crime. Most of the things that you can do when you're eighteen you can do when you're twenty one expects buying tobacco now and alcohol. There was a time before were eighteen olds could buy tobacco for many years , so why change it now.
“His engagement is exactly what Takoma officials were after when they lowered the voting age” (Shin). Imagined if that was allowed all over the country. Many 16- and 17- years old start to have a better understanding about politics and government because of school’s education. Many adults who are voting now probably forgot what they know and only use what the media broadcast to making a final decision. “Richie had seen reports from Denmark that suggested younger teenagers are more likely to cast a ballot than their slightly older peers” (Shin). Director of the national reform organization FairVote and a Takoma Park Residents has provided the park with the idea. On the other hand, there are reports showing the predict results not only in one county, but for others as
According to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting lowering the voting age in 1971, this leads to a search for a way to contribute to change, often birthing violent or destructive pastimes, instead of the constructive act of voting. Lowering the voting age would give teens the power to change the world, thus empowering and rejuvenating a politically wary social group. Politicians have no reason to care about the interests of 16 and 17-year-olds under current law, in contrast, with the proposed law, politicians would be required to fight for the interests of said younger group to keep their job. Bolstering the morale and democratic ideals of a struggling adolescent generation is a massive effect this small alteration in current legislation would
How did the senators and the mayors of each state rose to their power? It all came from the power of the citizens, and that is to vote. Voting is one of the rights given to us from the law. In the course of history, several reforms were made about the age limit of voting until it was limited to eighteen years of age. However, there has been a lot of arguments recently about lowering the voting age further to sixteen. According to the first article, the voting age should be maintained, and I completely agree with the writer of the first article. Even if the voting age would be moved to sixteen, the percentage of voters would decrease further and the government should focus more on making the people participate and using their voting rights.