Lowering Voting Age To Increase Voter Turnout In The Usa

Many developed and developing countries are rich with a large number of young adults as compared to the older people. This shows that these countries have highly educated and energetic young crowd who can help them achieve a faster economic and social development of the nation. Older people have a lot of experience and hence are wiser than young people; but young crowd have access to the wisdom of elders collectively and hence are able to take decisions accurately. Citizens in the age bracket of sixteen to eighteen are technically advanced and more open to bring about positive change in the working style of not only corporate but also government offices. If given a chance they can run the country more efficiently than the politicians. Sixteen-year-old are just out from school and have fair knowledge about government, national and world general knowledge. Given a chance to voice their opinion, the young adults can bring about radical change in the social and political environment of the country. Not only this, they would be guided and encouraged by their teachers to register and cast vote thereby developing voting habits. 16 and 17-year-olds can drive, leave school, get a job and must pay taxes on their wages. But one thing they aren’t allowed to do? Vote. They tend to be more passionate about the future of our nation and their democratic rights than other sections of the community (Brown, 2018). Consider countries like Argentina, Austria, Brazil, etc. that allow people to vote at the age of 16 in national, state or local elections, the voter turnout among the younger generation is much higher than it is among older young adults. Lowering the voting age to 16 will not only increase voter turnout but also develop lifelong voting habits. Lowering the age will develop healthy civic habits among teens.

Studies show that an average 16-year-old has the same amount of civic knowledge as a 21-year-old, so why are they being prevented from the same right to vote that 18-year-olds and above have? Teens clearly proved that they care about civics when they formed the gun control movement after the Florida and Texas shootings. But when it comes to voting for our lawmakers whose decisions like on gun control that affect teens’ lives, how do we give teens a voice in the decisions that affect their lives? By lowering the voting age to 16 and thus giving them the right to vote (Albornoz, 2019). By the age of 16, adolescents can gather and process information, weigh pros and cons, reason logically with the facts and take time before making a decision. Teenagers may sometimes make bad choices, but statistically, they don’t make them any more often than adults do.Teens would be more educated about issues; they would be encouraged to vote and to participate in choosing their lawmakers. Not only would more teens vote but also more adults because when they see many teens voting they would be encouraged to vote. One key advantage of allowing them to vote is that joining the electoral roll and voting can be combined with civics education. It is a better age for gaining the knowledge and forming the habits simultaneously. There is evidence that people who don’t vote the first time they are eligible are less likely to vote regularly in the future. Considering the people between 18 and 24 have the lowest voter turnout, allowing people to begin voting at an age which they are more likely to vote might increase future turnout at all ages. It would offer new voices to the political debate. Not only it is good for democracy, it will also increase the overall voter turnout percentage.

The teenage group and people in early twenties have extremely low voter turnout numbers, suggesting that people aren’t ready to vote until later in life. It might lower the voter turnout rates even further. One of the reasons 16 and 17-year-olds don’t care about politics is because they can’t vote and they don’t feel like they get a voice. If given chance, they can run the country more effectively through synergy. The outcome will be dramatic and thereby encourage others in the young bracket to cast their vote. They should be given a chance to vote for a representative from the same age bracket who can put forward their views of citizens of the teenagers for the betterment of the country. Usually 18-year-olds are at the turning point of their lives as they are moving out from school to university, or into employment or out of the home. During this time, they are into a lot of pressure to put any focus on politics. Rather, if they are made to vote from the age of sixteen, they can consult their parents, guardians and teachers and brainstorm and bring conclusion. This can work in the benefit of the youngsters as well as the guardians as they can express and understand each other’s point of view.

References

1. Albornoz, G. (2019). Voting Age Should be Lowered to 16! Skipping Stones, 31(2), 5. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prh&AN=135637729&site=eds-live&scope=site
2. Ayres, C. (n.d.). 14 Lowering The Voting Age to 16 Pros and Cons. Retrieved from https://vittana.org/14-lowering-the-voting-age-to-16-pros-and-cons
3. Brown, A. (2018, July 16). Voting age should be lowered to 16, law expert argues. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/voting-age-should-be-lowered-to-16-law-expert-argues-20180711-p4zqvx.html
4. ProCon.org. (2018, November 2). Lowering the Voting Age - Top 3 Pros and Cons. Retrieved from http://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005416
5. Steinberg, L. (2018). Lower the Voting Age to 16. The New York Times, p. 6. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgbe&AN=edsgcl.529670753&site=eds-live&scope=site