Just because an adult may be older, does not mean they are more educated or more qualified to vote. Not everyone who votes is aware of what they are doing. With youth being in school at this time, around these ages, they are learning about politics. They get a clear understanding of what is happening in the nation due to discussions in class. Having the knowledge definitely, can help the youth to make decisions and that will help with involvement in the class. These students also have a fresh knowledge of politics which means there could be a better understanding for the future.
Along with this, the government gives 16 or 17-year-olds adult responsibilities so why not this responsibility? Some teenagers are caregivers, highly educated, some are able to start their own businesses. There are many intelligent and mature teenagers in this nation so they should be involved especially because many are already verbally taking part in politics. Voter turnout would increase very much. Research shows that voting once will make citizens vote for the second time. This can help people understand the voting process more.
The youth very much has a place in this nation. They are able to get jobs at this time, they are able to drive, and they can even be tried as adults in court. We should be giving youth a chance in learning and being hands on involved in our country. Young people should have a voice in laws that they are supposed to follow. Why exclude them when it is their society that is being changed as they grow into an adult? We should get the youth involved as soon as possible and that age group would be a good place to get involved with politics.
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On Thursday, July 27, 2017, an argument titled Give Youth a Voice was posted from the blog Young Minded Perspective of the U.S. The author makes the argument that the youth, particularly 16 and 17-year-olds, should be granted the ability to vote. She elaborates on this topic by describing how the young are well educated at this time because they are enrolled in school. She also points out that the media plays a substantial role in educating the youth. She continues by stating that the government gives these 16 and 17-year-olds responsibilities, that they are caregivers, sometimes tried as adults in court, can legally drive and able to start their own businesses. According to the author, these points make a valid argument as to why teenagers should be able to vote.
I disagree with the author, I believe the voting age should begin at the age eighteen. There are many reasons I am convinced that the age to vote is set at a reasonable scale. Yes, 16 and 17-year-olds are currently enrolled in school but considering their maturity level MOST teens are not as engaged or fascinated by politics. For instance, the Gallup Poll states, “About half of U.S. public school students surveyed (49%) are engaged with school. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of all surveyed fifth-grade students are engaged, and only about one-third of surveyed students in 10th, 11th and 12th grades are engaged.” Not being fully involved in their government classes could lead to a deficiency in information that is needed to make a rational and educational decision. Second, USUALLY, teens haven’t contributed to their country yet. I feel the votes should come from the community that is involved and has contributed to the country and democracy. However, I do believe it is important for the youth to become engaged in government. I think we should make it mandatory for the youth to participate in government activities, for example, town meets.
Give Youth A Voice is an article posted on Young Minded Perspective of the U.S. that argues that the voting age should be lowered to 16 or 17. The article's main argument is that teenagers around that age are already given enough adult responsibilities that they should also be responsible enough to vote. Along with the article also points out that voting turnout may increase and that it is important to engage the youth as they are the ones that will inherit our future.
I would have to agree with the author on the reduction of the voting age, although for different reasons. I think that while it is true that we already give many 16 year olds some responsibilities of an adult, I still feel that at that age they are not really given the full freedom and responsibilities that turning 18 can bring. The most prominent change being at 16 most teens are still in school, while most 18 year olds are now out of the public school system. This by itself is quite a massive change that can lead to differences in responsibility at those two ages. I believe it is because of this lack of responsibility that the voting age should be lowered. This is because at the age of 18 a person may feel overwhelmed at what needs to be done as a legal adult, and without guidance voting may just seem like a nuisance. On the other hand, because 16 year olds are still in school they have less adult responsibilities while having the guidance of the school to encourage them to vote and as the original article said, people are much more likely to continue voting if they have already voted once before, making these younger voters much more likely to vote in the future.
Young Minded Perspective of the U.S.' post "Give Youth a Voice" argues that Americans as young as 16 should be able to vote. While it is true that some under-eighteens take on adult responsibility, I do not feel that lowering the voting age would necessarily be right. Instead, I think it would be beneficial to limit the current responsibilities of minors to match their voting status. While sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds may be as well educated as some adult voters, they have not had as much time to develop the critical thinking skills which are ideally used when making political decisions. Trouble also comes with the assumption that teens who are legally allowed to drive are automatically capable of considering the needs of society; what happens to fifteen-year-olds who have driving permits? Will they arbitrarily be left out of the democratic process as the author feels that older teens currently are? Since some age must be set, and those younger than that age will not be pleased anyway, legal adulthood seems as good a threshold as any.
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