Many people have noticed that teens are more involved in politics than ever. Many teens are very opinionated about politics. Some are very well informed and some just go with what their parents believe or what others tell them. So would it be a good idea to lower the voting age? There are many pros and cons to lowering the legal age.
Some teens are just as knowledgeable about civics and have the same ability to make good voting choices as older voters. Austria lowered their voting age to 16 in 2007. It was shown that the quality of those younger citizens' choices were similar to the older voters. Lowering the age to 16 increases the voter turnout and develops lifelong voting habits. Involving young people in voting can encourage their parents and other adults in their households to vote, increasing the overall voter turnout rate. When you turn 16 some people believe that you should have a voice in the laws that affect their lives and a stake in the future of their country.
Other people believe that kids under the age of 18 are not mature enough to participate in voting. Experts say that kids under the age of 18 have less political knowledge, and the lack of experience needed to vote. The 18-29 age group has extremely low voter turnout showing they are not ready to vote until later life. Only 23% of students scored at or above the “proficient” level on the last National Assessment of Educational Progress test of civics knowledge and skills. Lastly, the majority of Americans of all ages agree that 16-years-olds should not be given the right to vote. 84% of voters in 2019 opposed lowering the voting age.
I think that 16 is too young to vote because some kids are just not educated enough about politics. Many kids only hear one side of it because they just want to believe what people around them tell them to. Personally, I feel that lowering the voting age to 16 is not a great idea.
Do you think lowering the voting age is a good idea?
Would you vote if you were able to?
https://vote16usa.org/reasons-for-lowing-voting-age-16/
Replies
Great topic choice and you summary was well done! You commented back eight times but with five pages of comments you should have replied back around fifteen times.
I personally believe that lowering the voting age is a good idea because the majority of 16 year olds have a job currently which means that they pay taxes and that's where the phrase "No taxation without representation" they are getting taxed, yet they are not getting represantation.
I do not think lowering the voting age would be a good idea at all. Most 16 year olds are not very educated on things at all and would just be voting along with their parents. This could cause many problems. 16 year olds are very easy to pressure which could lead to more peer pressure on who to vote for.
I don't think that the voting age is a good idea. Most people aren't mature enough to make important decisions at 16. For example, a lot of people voted for Kanye West (a joke canidate that didn't even want to win) just to be funny when we took the Iowa Straw Pole. I also don't think most 16 year olds are educated enough to make these decisions either.
It'd be awesome if it could make it a habit of young adults to carry on into their own lives, but it could also make voting very one sided. Parents who don't expose their children to other veiwpoints or teenagers with little knowledge of politics will just vote for what their parents believe, essentially giving their parents two or more votes. It should be more encouraged and maybe have some benefit for younger people, but the age shouldn't be lowered.
I don't think it's a good idea because your still a kid. Most 16 year olds don't think for themselves. Teens are peer pressured into things all the time, so who's to say they won't be peer pressured to vote for a certain canidate. Voting is too important to deal with immature 16 year olds being peer pressured or just listing to what social media says to vote.
Many 16 year olds would be pressured to vote for who their peers do. I think that many kids would feel that they have to vote for who people around them do. I understand this wouldn't change a whole lot in 2 years but I think that 18 year olds have more knowledge about politics.
Lowering the voting age to 16 is a terrible idea. Kids these days all think that they are educated in politics but is rarely true. This could be detrimental to the country as it would be putting the wrong people in power. If I could vote I would definitely do so, so I can put my vote up for whoever I think is best.
Most 16 year olds dont know enough about politics to vote. And most are definitiley not mature enough to participate in voting.
I don't think lowering the voting age is a good idea because many teens opinions can be effected by what they see on social media. I think 18 is a good age to start voting because that is when you become an adult and you have more experience in life.
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