The legal voting age should be reduced to 16 instead of 18. We can work, we can join the army, we can even get married at the age of 16, but we can't vote at 16? We can leave school, we can move out of the family house and live on our own independently if we wanted to at the age of 16, but yet we are considered immature and not responsible enough to vote at 16, why?
Why is electing a political representative much more important than authorising a 16 year old to go fight and potentially die for their country.
The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969 during the Vietnam war, because it was only fair to those aged 18 - 20 dying for their country have a say in how the country is run. Therefore if 16 year olds are now capable of joining the army then surely it makes sense to also give them the opportunity to vote. Nothing can fully prepare you for joining the army at 16 – living on the edge of life, putting yourself and others at risk, and living in an extremely dangerous environment, not knowing whether you will survive or die within the next second. A majority of people who oppose of lowering the voting age believe that 16 year olds simply don’t have the life experience nor any knowledge as to what politics even is; this is not true. There are people who go into war that don’t have enough life experience or knowledge of everything, yet they are managing to face every challenge that is thrown at them.
Secondly, it is argued that by allowing 16 and 17 year olds to participate in the elections, would be meaningless because it is likely that they have been manipulated by the parents and brainwashed by false promises. Those who agree to this need to stop making false assumption; we are not a puppet or a 10 year old that is ...
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...ct on their future. Finally we will get some recognition and our decision will be also accounted for. This powerful yes or no question will impact and change many lives. It will be an exciting moment, to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote, to finally be accepted as full members of the society.
It is not just about giving us the right to vote, it is the gate for young people to step up a level and actively take part in the decision making processes – contributing to society.
Let us 16 and 17 year old have our say. Is there any harm in giving us this privilege and responsibility as a young adult?
Works Cited
http://yougov.co.uk/news/2012/02/15/and-against-lowering-voting-age/ http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/letters/legal-voting-age-should-be-lowered-to-16-28874729.html http://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/oct/18/scotland-referendum-votes16
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.
The young as well as the older people of Canada seem to be in a deadlock. The question of if the federal government should or should not lower the voting age is a question debated surely around the dinner tables of families in Canada, as well as in the ranks of the government. Some people even suggest that the age needs to be raised. What would make people want the voting age to be lowered to an even lower age than the young adult age of 18? On the other hand how can the youth of Canada who have their own individual views be able to make a difference without being able to vote? Both sides provide for an intriguing look into the facts and resolutions for an appropriate way to either change the voting age or keep it the same. Throughout this paper I will look at and analyze the arguments of the youth who claim to be 'disenfranchised', as well as others who see the lowering of the voting age to be detrimental rather than an improvement to the Government of Canada's political process. In 1854, before Canada became a responsible government the only people allowed to vote were people who had a high value of land which they owned, and had a high income. Women and people with other ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs were also denied the right to vote. This did not mean that these people did not have their views and beliefs on who and what they wanted in their government but rather they were denied the right. These laws have changed since then drastically and Canada has become a democratic country (rule by the people). However, the frustration of not being able to vote and support their ideals and politicians does live on in the hearts and minds of thousands of young Canadians under the age of eighteen. The...
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
I think that the age to vote should be 21.I believe this is an acceptable age to vote at because at 21 you have graduated and possibly gone to college, and you most likely have a lot more free time to keep up with the political elections.When you become 21 you get a lot of privileges for example you will be legally aloud to do drugs along with being able to Obtain a concealed weapons permit. One reason you get these privileges is because you have mostly matured and our country has trusted you with these privileges. I believe that if you can vote then you can drink. If you can trust a student with the privilege to vote and determine the leader and future of our country then not to drink then I believe they should wait to vote until they are 21 to be able to vote.
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?
Making this change can also make a difference in the voter turnouts for elections to come because the will be more involved and make a difference in the future. There was one person who voted no on letting ungerage voters, Fred Schultz. Schultz said that the result won’t be worth the time and effort the city has devoted ...Nor will it do much to achieve the goal of getting younger voters engaged in politics. Meaning that there is no way that after letting 16 and 17 year olds vote will make them politically active. I personally believe that he is wrong in the sense of assuming that these teens won’t be more engaged because form witnessing the 2016 elections I saw more teens involved with everything that was
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.
In my opinion, the current voting age of 18 should be kept. I say this because of many reasons, which are listed in the passage titled "Keep the Voting Age 18." The passage "Lower the Voting Age" contradicts the idea that the age 18 should be kept as the voting age.
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.
Although there are 44 million eligible young voters ages 18-29, in 2012 only 45% of them voted. These young people make up one fifth, or 21%, of the eligible voting population, yet they often do not vote. Voting is a tremendous gift. Young people in many other countries around the world have to fight to gain this right. In America, voting is often taken for granted by all age groups, but the youth take it for granted the most. In this paper, the reason why young people do not vote will be explored and solutions as to how to get them to vote will be proposed.
The youth of today face many challenges. They face the normal challenges of becoming an adult and gaining their independence, leaving home for the first time, busier schedules than ever, and the new right to vote. Voting for the first time is an exciting experience and offers a new freedom not previously experienced but many of today’s youth decide not to exercise their new right. There has been a 15% decline in the turnout of 18-25 year olds since 1972 (Levine, Peter and Mark Hugo Lopez). This could be the result of confusion on the process of voting, more instability of their living situation, lack of interest, and lack of knowledge regarding politics.
16 and 17-year-olds cannot legally gamble, get a tattoo, buy alcohol, appear in an adult court, and many other things, so why should they be able to vote? It just doesn't make sense. It's inconsistent. 72% of respondents in the 2010 Australian Election Study stated that the voting age should "definitely stay at 18", so this proves that many people agree the voting age should stay at 18.
I think the voting age should not be lowered to 13. Right now the minimum voting age is set at 18 years. When the US was founded, the minimum age to vote was 21 years, but after debates it was lowered to 18 years. When people reach 21, they are considered to be adults. Currently there are people talking about whether to lower the voting age to 13.
I also think that the voting age should change because it would give the 16 year olds a reason to have pride of their country. We make bad decisions making just like adults do. We live in this country just like adults do. For example, say one day we choose a bad president, say he changes everything about the country we live in.The adults and the 16 year olds would have to change the way they have lived in the past and become more adapt to the new changes in their country. The adults are not in this alone. Whatever happens to the country about bad decisions making they are dragging in the 16 year olds that could not make any decisions for themselves.
The United States has come an incredibly long way in terms of voting rights. In the first stages of this great nation, only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. As time progressed, all men were granted suffrage, and eventually women were too. Now, all people eighteen and older have the right to vote. Despite having the power to engage in politics, the younger generation’s turnout continues to decline. A portion of the responsibility likely lies in the issues associated with college students and the challenges they face in casting their vote. Although many elements contribute to this low turnout, several can be improved, or even fixed. Since the voting age has been lowered to 18, the younger generation voting rates continue to go down, college students face many obstacles when it comes to voting, and several issues could be altered or changed in order to better fit the needs of young voters.