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Lowering The Voter Age

I came across an interesting article from the National Youth Rights Association making the argument for lowering the legal voting age from 18 to 16. After seeing the headline, I was curious about how anyone could make that argument. I must say, their arguments are pretty convincing. The main point that I never put much thought into was that teenagers pay taxes (almost $10 billion/year) and yet have no voice in how that money is spent. The NYRA makes other reasonable arguments of why the age should be lowered that I found to be quite interesting. How do you feel about it? We lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 because we were sending our young men and women to fight in wars but yet they had no voice in the matter. Does the same standard apply when collecting taxes? Are there other reasons why you think we should lower the voting age or leave it as it is?

Created ~ 2/6/12 | Updated ~ 4/27/12 | Views ~ 308 | Replies ~ 4

PoliticalNovice

20,100 SmartPoints

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mattc1323

5,800 SmartPoints

This doesn't make sense. When you are 16, you do not have the proper education to be able to make an informed decision. I could argue to raise the voting age. We don't have the draft anymore, so if you go to the military when you are 18, it is your own choice.

You may say that you were mature enough to vote when you were 16, but seriously, how many teenagers are ready for that?

3/19/12 at 1:06 PM

PoliticalNovice

20,100 SmartPoints

"This doesn't make sense. When you are 16, you do not have the proper education to be able to make an informed decision. I could argue to raise the voting age. We don't have the draft anymore, so if you go to the military when you are 18, it is your own choice.

You may say that you were mature enough to vote when you were 16, but seriously, how many teenagers are ready for that?" ~ mattc1323

That was my first thought, too. I'll admit that I certainly wasn't mature enough at 16 to know what I was doing. However, if that was the litmus test then we would have to rule out half the adult voters, too. There are certainly plenty of idiots that vote. I guess what got me thinking was the point about paying taxes. To me, it seems that if you're paying taxes, you should have a say in how that money is being spent.

3/19/12 at 1:53 PM

mattc1323

5,800 SmartPoints

That is a valid point, but I still stand by the fact that they are not mature enough, also I believe that you will be getting these 16 year old voters voting the same as their parents, making no difference in the outcome of an election. I am 100% behind a "test" to get a voter's registration card, that may make a lot of people mad though. Can't please everyone.

3/19/12 at 7:32 PM

MSsummers2

1,125 SmartPoints

I think the voting age should remain at 18. Although, the point about all tax payers should have a voice has some validity. I don't see age as a defining factor for one's worthiness/capability of voting. I know several youngsters (13-17) that I would consider more capable of going through the proper (responsible) steps of voting than most adults. Despite this, the average 16 year old just does not have enough life experience or common sense to vote.

Others have mentioned a "test" as a prerequisite for obtaining a voter registration card. I agree with the idea; however, a process to "screen" voters in an attempt to evaluate their intellect and weigh it against a predetermined pass/fail line won't stand. It would be viewed by many as an attempt to ostracise certain people groups. I'm not saying that I disagree--I'm just pointing out that it will meet much resistance. You would surely hear something to the effect of, "All men are created equal." To which the response could be, "Not all men REMAIN equal." However, this would likely spur a debate that would challenge the very idea of democracy. Anyway, pardon my ranting.

As far as taxes are concerned, I think it does young people good to understand at an early age (1st job, etc.) exactly how the taxpayer system works. It helps them see the bigger picture.

Lowering The Voter Age

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