Summary Of The Voting Age Of A Voter By Anya Kamenetz

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 first support Kamenetz argues is, the 2008 presidential campaign brought in the most voters under the age of 29 in history. If the voting age would be decreased, there would be more voters under the young adult category. There would be an increase of voters, including those under the age of eighteen.

The second argument of Kamenetz is that at the age of sixteen, most people have had enough education to understand what they want in their future; thus, having a credible political opinion. Kamenetz believes that the voting system should be flexible of

According to Kamenetz, “there was a 38 percent reduction in fatal crashes among the youngest drivers,” with sixteen-year-olds going through the classes that are needed to earn a learners permit (Kamenetz). If the law is trusting a sixteen-year-old to drive safely, Kamenetz believes they should also be able to vote.

Kamentetz believes that there should be an “early voting permit” for sixteen-year-olds that do want to vote. This would require taking a test similar to the citizenship test. Kamenetz states, “16-year-olds who want to start voting should be able to obtain an “early voting permit” from their high schools upon passing a simple civics course, similar to the citizenship test” (Kamenetz). By lowering the voting age and taking a required citizenship test in high school, sixteen-year-olds would be able to receive an “early voting permit.”

Most sixteen-year-olds have already had many firsts. Kamenetz states that by the age of sixteen, most people have already had, “first jobs, their first drinks, and first sexual initiations” (Kamenetz). Since they are already given so many responsibilities and opportunities, it would make sense to include an option to vote. Sixteen-year-olds could then add voting to their lists of

Even though sixteen-year-olds may be safer on the roads from taking a driving class, it does not mean that they have enough real-world experience to make an educated vote. Parents, teachers, friends, and social media will have an impact on their vote, as well as their easily changing ideas. Society has a great influence on the opinions of younger generations; it is unlikely that sixteen-year-olds will have a true individual opinion. An early voting permit would be good idea; however, most Americans would not be able to pass the “early voting permit”