Many people opposed the change of voting age, but others believed that it should be lowered. People who think that the voting age should stay the same usually are the conservative people who want to keep the old customs as they are. People who are conservative are usually cautious about changes, and usually want to stay put without improvement. The people who want changes are usually more liberal. These people leave place for improvements, but sometimes vote for the change of things that are not supposed to be changed. The battle over the voting age was fought much like any other argument about laws. It was just one of many full out battles of conservatives versus liberals.
For many years in the past, people have died in wars without getting a decision on their deaths through voting. The debate began in World War II, when people began to realize that hundreds of thousands of fine young men are dying, half of which don’t even have a say on whether they supported their death and the war, or they opposed the war and the sacrifice of their lives. Voting, as a matter of fact, is expressing one’s opinion. Voters most often cast their ballot for the candidates who support their views. By denying suffrage from anybody under 21, the soldiers were being deprived of the expression of their judgment.
People under 21 had a lack- a lack of a single, important right. They had all the responsibilities of an adult, but did not have the same rights- most importantly, voting. The lack of this right was an issue. Some, at the time, say that these people weren’t mature enough or weren’t intelligent enough, but that is a faulty point of view. Ted Kennedy proved them wrong by stating in his own testimony that:
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...ow-to/content/the-us-constitutions-twentysixth-amendment-lowerin.html>. Contains info about the passing of the 26th amendment and the Oregon vs. Mitchell case.
"Lowering the National Voting Age to 18." TedKennedy.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. . Gives me the point of view of a famous, intelligent and successful person.
"Students and faculty consider the pros and cons of lowering the voting age." HiLite Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. . Shows me many different views of random people, and their points in their side of the argument.
"top ten reasons to lower the voting age." National Youth Rights Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. . It gives me ten good reasons to lower the voting age.
It’s very unsettling to know that there was a six percent decrease in young voters (ages 18-29) in the 2012 election compared to 2008 (Circle Youth data). In 2007 the National Conference of State Legislatures publicly released a report and data set on voter turnout in democratic countries. This is a quote from that report titled Getting out the Vote, “It should be noted that in 1972, 18-year-olds were added to the eligible voting population, thus decreasing the percentages. Nonetheless, voter tu...
Overall, the twenty-sixth amendment is taken very lightly, and easily brushed over. Unfortunately, the amendment is more complicated than thought to be the common American. It has had many voting age arguments due to military’s part in the debate. This was made more complicated since the Vietnam war was in action as the age debate was being addressed throughout the nation. The amendment was the ultimate full membership into the political community and demanded that they would be recognized as citizens as well. Ultimately, voting does give the government lead way on what actions to take to better help our the country, as well as responding to the demand of the people within America as well. Having generations and generations all in one voting
Sarah, an eighteen-year-old college freshman, walks into a convenience store and moves timidly to the back, hoping that no one she knows will see her. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulls out a chilled case of Coors Light. Sarah nervously approaches the cashier, with her fake ID ready to be shown, and places the case of beer on the counter. Upon first sight, the cashier assumes that Sarah is not of legal age to buy beer, because she is petite and looks young. When she places the case on the counter, the cashier asks her for her ID. Sarah, ready to show her seemingly flawless fake form of identification, hands it to him. At first glance, the ID seems to be real, and the date of birth appears correct, but, when looked at closely, the picture does not exactly resemble the underage customer. The cashier identifies this ID as false identification and refuses to sell Sarah the case of Coors Light.
The minimum legal drinking age was not always twenty-one; it has fluctuated between twenty-one and eighteen over the past few decades. In the article, “Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age” by Carla T. Main, the issues of voting age during the Vietnam War are discussed. Furthermore, she speaks about how the change of the legal voting age is linked to the change of the minimum legal drinking age. During the Vietnam War, lowering the voting age to eighteen became an issue. Many felt as though they should be trusted to vote if they were trusted to fight for their country. Along with this issue came the issue of lowering the minimum legal drinking age as well. Americans began to realize that as eighteen year olds, citizens were given many rights, and those should include voting and drinking. At eighteen, rights include serving the United State military, the ability to get married, and being able to legal sign contracts on your own. After much attention, the voting age was changed. In the article, “The Drinking Game”, Marshall Poe discusses the change of the voting age during the Vietnam War. “The needed three-f...
"Duke Research - Pros and Cons of the Legal Drinking Age." n.d. Pros and Cons of the Legal Drinking Age. 21 March 2014. .
Hall, Jim. "Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age Is a Bad Idea." Center for Science in the Public Interest. N.p., Feb. 1998. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
DeJong, William. “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18? No.” American Teacher 93.3 (2008): 3. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
Before World War II, the age of majority in America was twenty-one. At this age, men entered into their full rights and obligations, such as the expectation to fight for their country, the freedom to vote, and the right to consume alcohol (Poe, 2). There was no confusion pertaining to what a man was allowed to do. Everything was consistent. When the draft age was lowered to eighteen during the Second World War, the nation went into frenzy. The American people did not think it was fair that at eighteen young men could be forced to go out and fight for their country, but were not permitted vote (Poe, 2). In their minds the only compromise that seemed fair was to give the men the ballot in return for their service to our country (Poe, 2). However, no one argued that men be given the right to drink, because of their service to our country. In fact, Senator Joshua Lee believed that soldiers under twenty-one years of age needed to be protected from drinking by their older fellow service men (Poe, 2). Congress concluded that only the states could change their voting and drinking ages, but surprisingly, the states did not rush to do so (Poe,2). Eventually, the soldiers were demobilized,...
The Web. 10 May, 2016. www.usnews.com Should the Drinking Age be lowered from 21 to a younger age? ProCon.org - a. ProCon.org - a. 10 March, 2016 -. Web.
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.
Voting participation is one of the most common controversies in today’s society. Thom File of the Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964-2012 states that, “Voting rates, which represent the number of voters relative to a given population or subpopulation, have varied across recent election cycles with the general outcome being that voting rates increase with age. In every presidential election since 1964, young voters between the ages of 18 through 24 have consis-tently voted at lower rates than all other age groups, although young-adult voting rates have fluctuated from one election to another (Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections,
Engs, Ruth C. Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered: An Opinion Based upon Research. Rep. Indiana University. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
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.
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.
As a whole, only about half of the population eligible to vote does so. In the election of our forty-third president, fifty one percent of those eligible voted. The young adult age group, 18-29, makes up the smallest part of that group. Seventeen percent of eligible voters between this age group voted (Lewis). In the latest presidential election, 30 million 18-30 year olds did not vote (Anthony, Skaags). Only a small percentage of voters came out of this age group-the smallest; however, it is not uncommon to see members of the group participating in protests or other complaint oriented activities with the intent of making change. Change is able to come easier than most people think.