Teens are expected to follow the law, right? So why don’t we have any say in making it? The legal voting age in the United States should be changed from 18 to 16 years old. Teenagers want to display their voices, gain civic responsibility, and choose how their government runs.
Bold letters swiped across a rally poster for voting rights reads, “Why are our voices less important than yours?” After all, it’s our future too. We want to display what we care about just as much as adults. Many teens even feel that the because of this reason, their freedom of speech is being hindered. And, like former president Lyndon B. Johnson put, “A man without a vote is a man without protection.”
When a citizen turns 16, they gain civic responsibility. That is
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?
The voting age requirement was changed to 18 because it was believed that if you were old enough to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War at 18, then you should be allowed to vote.
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
Today in America, less than half of young voters between the ages of 18 and 24 vote (TheBestColleges.org). What most of these new adults fail to realize, is that their government depends on them to vote and elect new leaders to represent their country. Many of them make excuses to avoid voting, when really, they benefit most from voting.
The Voting Age Must be Lowered for Democracy to Exist in America. Imagine for a moment that senior citizens were denied the right to vote. Imagine senior citizens being thought of as too incompetent to vote because some senior citizens are senile. Can you imagine such a large percentage of the American public being denied the right to vote – simply on account of their age? It doesn't happen in America, right?
What do you think would happen if the state legislature made the minimum driving age 18 instead of 16? The state legislature is considering raising the minimum driving age from 16 to 18. They should keep it at 16 because teenagers need more experience before going away from home, they need the practice of being responsible, and they also might need to be able to get places but if they can’t drive, they can’t go anywhere.
“Illiterate citizens seldom vote. Those who do are forced to cast a vote of questionable worth. They cannot make informed decisions based on serious print information. More frequently, they vote for a face, a smile, or a style, not for a mind or character or body of beliefs. Sometimes the can be alerted to their interests by aggressive voter education
Voting in the United States is one of the greatest tools to elect representatives who closely support their own ideology. However, the United States faces an ever-evolving situation in our election system; voter disenfranchisement. Because of voter disenfranchisement it is “estimated that 6.1 million voters [are currently] banned from the polls today” (Chung, 2016). Ideally, all Americans of voting age should have the right to vote. However, “African Americans and other ethnic minorities” face disenfranchisement when it comes to voting rights (Bailey, 2004; Cohen, 2012).
Conference, T. L. (n.d.). Voting Rights Act. Washington, DC. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.civilrights.org/voting-rights/vra/
At the age of 18 other things that can be potentially harmful such as smoking are legal. Also at the age of 18 the government sees people as adults and people are able to be tried as adults. The drinking age should be lowered from 21 to the age of 18 because a person becomes an adult at the age of 18; however this can be harmful and increase the about of traffic related deaths across America.
I think that the legal age of voting should be age 21 and older because when they are at least 21 they are able to make good decisions and choose which one would be the best President. When they are at age 21 they are at the drinking age legally. And that means that they can make big decisions and be responsible and they should be the ones to be to vote.
Hello, I am RJ Dearing. I am a sophomore at Washington Virtual Academies and I am writing to you to tell you why you should change the minimum age to vote to be at least closer to sixteen years of age. The younger generation of teens and young adults who also have a few opinions on politics like myself would love to voice our opinions on our own ballets. The only problem is the minimum age to vote right now is eighteen. A whole two years of waiting for our voices to be heard, when all you have to do is change the minimum age and let us have our voice heard on political matters.
“Only 6 in 10 eligible Americans vote in presidential elections, and turnout for midterm elections is typically much lower, around 33 percent of eligible voters; for local elections, turnout is even lower,” (217). Through the lack of voting there is not enough of the popular voice being heard. There need to be a jumpstart on the younger generation to care for what is happening around them. It should not just be the older generation voting on laws, which are going to have a bigger impact on this current generation than the older generation. Our first amendment states, ““Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (Cornell University Law School). Through this right, our Founding Fathers allowed the citizens of the United States of America to voice their option without the fear of harm. To have the freedom of speech is not seen in ever country but in the U.S., this right should allow everyone to feel free to state their options. The turnout for voting should not be this low, but is, as citizens have not been coming out to vote in the past few
Many people think of the 206 million eligible voters in the United States and think, “How could one vote possibly make a difference?” Or perhaps some find themselves too busy, while other non-voters are simply uninterested in politics. With a combination of all excuses, about 75 million people that were eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election chose not to. That’s 75 million unheard voices! 75 million unrepresented individuals make up approximately 36% of all eligible voters. That number of people could easily change the outcome of an election. When put in perspective and fully understood, it’s realized just how important it is for every eligible voter to vote, and do so responsibly. The significance of voting is commonly misunderstood. Voting determines things from the president of the United States, to a small town mayor, to representatives, which all in turn determine everything from war, to taxes, to a child’s education. This country was politically formed into something previously unknown to the world, and with citizenship to this great country and democracy, comes great responsibility. It is a right as U.S. citizens to choose to vote or not; however, it is a duty and obligation to do so, for the sake of those who have fought, for friends and family, and for this country as a whole.
How lucky are we to be able to live in the land of freedom and the country that has equal opportunities for all its citizens? Many of us take those opportunities for granted while there are other people in this planet who dream of being here and having these opportunities. Furthermore, there are a lot of people who don’t seem to understand an important right and privilege that comes along with freedom. That privilage is known as “voting” which allows the people to take part in what’s happening with the country and the government. Voting is expressed in many ways not just every four years to elect a president in office.