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
...adults compared to older adults were less likely to respond that voting was extremely important for good citizenship (133). He concludes that it is too late for the generation of young adults that do not feel voting is an important civic responsibility, however, that it is not too late to convince them that politics matter by showing them that they are giving their opportunity to make important decisions that may impact their lives to others who have different ideas. One may agree with Wattenberg’s idea that habits follow people throughout their lives instead of changing as they cycle in life. His personal accounts are an impactful way to illustrate the importance of building a sense of duty at a young age and carrying that responsibility throughout one’s life.
When analyzing the voting turn out in this nation is becomes evident that the youth of America tends to be less active compared to their elders. Written in the book "Is Voting for Young People" by Martin P. Wattenberg he breaks down the key components connecting the youth of America to voting in order to come to the conclusion of how active the youth is in politics, and ways to make them more involved.
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?
Topic: The voting age in Canada. This topic is relevant to the audience because we the youth should be given the right to vote. This essay will state why the youth should be given the right to vote and provides a call to action to inform the audience of what they can do.
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...
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.
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 if America is to be a free and democratic nation, and youth are to be granted their human right to take part in the business of their nation by being allowed to vote. Works Cited D. G. The "Elective Election" Education Week on the Web! 10 Feb. 1998. http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-11/13boxh11.
As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once put it, “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country” (Roosevelt 1938). In their book, Running from Office, Lawless and Fox argue that a “high-quality, well-functioning democracy demands that the next generations hears – and then heeds – a call to public service” (3). While this assertion is certainly true to some degree, the real problems of democracy will arise when young people disengage themselves from politics altogether. Despite having low interest in running for office, young Americans still show significant interest
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.
Did you know that the voting age was not always 18 in Canada? Until 1970 the legal voting age was 21. However this caused a lot of controversy. Citizens aged 18-21 reasoned that since they were old enough to fight and possibly lose their lives in war for their country they should be able to elect who would make decisions and represent them in government. 1970, a revised Canada Elections Act lowered the voting age and the age of candidacy from 21 years to 18. What did Canada’s youth do with this newfound right? As little as possible! On average less than 38.8% of Canadian youth from the age of 18-25 vote. The failure of young adolescents to vote has spawned much uncertainty and worry from government officials making them feel that lowering the
Voting is something we should take under consideration for what is the right age to be called an adult. The legal voting age now is 18 but should that still be the correct age ? There are a lot of benefits to voting at the age 16 or 17 like in the community .”Sixteen- and 17-year-old deserve the right to vote on issues that affect them on the local level” (vote 16 USA) .If we don’t have a say in our community while were younger when we get to 18 we’re
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”
vote because people believe that by that age they can think rationally and sensibally. Until kids are
If the voting age was lowered kids can have a voice about political issues. Kids under 18 have adult responsibilities, like being a caregiver, helping to run a business, and making substantial contributions to their households, and yet are denied the same rights to vote than adults. Kids are allowed to win nobel prize, become published authors, conduct cancer research, run their own schools, and work for NASA, certainly they have to be able to vote. People under 18 are expected to follow adult laws and experience adult consequences if they don’t do so. Adults tell young people are not mature, but yet responsible adults commit crimes.