If we were to change our voting age, we would not be the first. Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, and Nicaragua all allow voting at 16. In East Timor, Ethiopia, Indonesia, North Korea and Sudan, the voting age is 17. In some countries, at 16, if you get married or become employed, you earn legal adult rights which include voting. Austria, in 2007, was the first country to pass the law to change the age to 16. Many people are not in favor of teenagers having this ability to vote due to them not being focused on the actual government and what is happening.
Studies were done by Markus Wagner, David Johann, and Sylvia Kritzinger from the University of Vienna. Austria's voting election showed that 16 and 17-year-olds did have a little less knowledge but the Democratic disaffection and motivation to participate in politics compared to older age groups were fairly the same. Overall, findings show that there is little evidence that say 16 and 17-year-olds are less able to participate in politics. There is not really a negative effect at all.
So, to end, the voting age in the United States should indeed still be lowered to 16 and 17 for the generations to come so that their voice is heard and so they can live in a world that they helped put together instead of living according to the older population.
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In Give Youth a Voice Expansion, the author argues that the voting age of the United States should be lowered to age sixteen because they are at a time where they are learning about the government. This is not a good idea, because if they are still just starting to learn about the government, they may not have a strong enough education to form a true opinion about what is best for the country. Since this age group is also just beginning to be “exposed to adult-like situations,” they have not had too many yet on their own, and are therefore still learning about becoming a productive adult to society.
Although many other countries have a lower voting age, the United States has a better government than most if not all of those others. This is partially due to the fact that the voting age is higher here and the voters are more educated than those of other countries. As was mentioned in the blog, many people do not want sixteen-year-olds to be allowed to vote since they are “not focused on the actual government and what is happening.” This seems like a rather large problem if people who do not know what is going on with the government are voting, since they may not make the best decisions for the country. Another potential problem is that these younger voters may not make decisions that would benefit the country, but just themselves. Since the blog claims that 16 and 17-year-olds have “less knowledge” but the same “motivation to participate in politics” as older age groups, it seems like an easy decision not to let them vote, as they would decrease the average political knowledge of American voters.
The end of the blog claims that the voting age should be lowered to sixteen so that the younger population can live in a world that they created, but if the voting age remains at eighteen, not only will they still be able to impact the world they will live in, but they will do so by voting with more knowledge. This will actually end up creating a better world for them to live in than it would have been if they were able to vote without important political knowledge at a younger age.
On August 1, 2017, one of my colleagues posted an article giving her viewpoint on the voting age being lowered. My colleague feels that "we should allow 16 and 17-year-olds to also vote." She explains her reasoning by stating that "this age group is also exposed to many adult-like situations such as having to provide for themselves, having to take themselves places or taking care of younger individuals." I feel that she makes a valid point with that statement, there are some sixteen and seventeen-year-olds who have the same responsibility's that many adults have. My colleague then goes on to talk about the different countries who have lowered the voting age. Though my colleague makes a valid argument about lowering the voting age in the United States.
I personally don't agree with her, I feel that voting age should not be lowered. I feel that 18 is the perfect voting age, it shouldn't be raised higher or lower. Most sixteen and seventeen-year-olds main focus is school and having fun with their friends, having to vote at that age would put a bigger responsibility on sixteen and seventeen-year-olds that some are not ready for. Also if the voting age were to be lowered, it would possibly lower the drafting age. Many people are 18 when they graduate from high school, 18 is the age that builds the bridge to adulthood. One of the things that come with being an adult is being able to vote. In conclusion, I feel that the voting age in the United States is the right age.
On Tuesday August 11th, one of my classmates wrote a piece titled, “Give Youth a Voice Expansion” as part of her blog called, “Young Minded Perspective of the U.S.” I found to relate and strongly agree with their argument on lowering the voting age in order to allow young adults (aged 16) to vote. The author makes several points to support this claim, such as stating that many kids at that age are currently learning about politics in classes and are already being exposed to adult situations, therefore making them more mature to vote than assumed by most adults.
As the author mentioned, she thought that kids at age sixteen are learning about the government, and are therefore informed enough to vote. I agree with this because at the age of sixteen most of us are learning about the government and the history of our country. Along with this, I know personally that in my history and English classes, the teachers have always made time for students to be able to discuss current news and issues and therefore be able to relate it to history or government. Often in these discussions, we would express our opinions over the President’s new bill or even the candidates of the past elections. By learning and engaging in civil discussions, as such, many sixteen year olds are mature and knowledgeable enough to go and vote.
Another point the author makes is the enthusiasm and energy teens carry to be part of politics. Being young comes with fresh energy ready to use anywhere. With this energy, many teens go out and be a part of protests and rallies and they fight for change even if they don’t get to vote for it. An example I have of this is that many of my friends were a part of protests against Trump and his recent actions regarding the LGBT community, Planned Parenthood and Trump in general. Although they were not allowed to vote against these bills or in the past elections, the effort put to be at least part of rallies like such shows the maturity and enthusiasm teens have.
With the knowledge learned in classes and then raw energy, I agree with the author, and believe that the voting age should be lowered to cater to the increased politically active teens.
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