Summary: Following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, there has been debate about allowing 16 year olds to vote since politicians have refused to pass any gun reforms. Takoma Park, Maryland, was the first city to allow 16 year olds to vote, and other cities are following suit. Several countries like Austria and Scotland have already let 16 year olds vote as well. Author Joshua A. Douglas argues that allowing 16 year olds to vote would increase voter turnout tremendously. While some may argue that 16 year olds are not mature enough or capable of making decisions, Douglas says that studies of cognitive brain development shows that cold cognition, reasoned, deliberate decision making, has already been developed by the age of 16.
Opinion: While it is sad that politicians are not pushing for more gun control following many high school shootings, if 16 year olds get the right to vote they will be able to vote on all other issues besides gun control and I am not sure if they should be able to have a say in things such as taxes which they do not need to pay yet. Furthermore, while Douglas claims that "reasoned, deliberate decision making" has developed by the age of 16, I know many students and even adults who do not make good decisions. I am surprised gun reforms have not been passed yet since I would imagine many parents would not want this tragedy to happen to their children and be moved to vote for reform.
Questions:
Do you think 16 year olds (high school juniors) should be able to vote? Why or why not?
What other ways do you think students can do to push for gun reform?
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/opinions/parkland-shooting-voting-age-opinion-douglas/index.html
5 comments:
I feel like 16-year-olds should be able to vote. Sure, some high school juniors (and sophomores, probably) may not be able to make good decisions, but why prevent them from having a political opinion? They already have the ability to obtain a driver's license, a responsibility considerably larger than the ability to vote. This might also persuade politicians to dedicate time appealing towards younger generations, as currently a very small portion of even 18 year olds actually vote.
I think Chris brings up a good point in that allowing 16 year olds to vote may change the political environment into one that begins to emphasize appealing to a younger generation of voters. This would hopefully draw people toward a desire to understand policies and be more politically aware about the world around them from a younger age. A more aware population breeds better democracy.
Regardless of where we draw the dividing line, it will be arbitrary, no doubt to a large degree on how the numbers sound. If we wanted to only allow voters with a certain cognitive development level, we ought to raise the bar from 18 to 25, and create a maximum age. Rather than being a Geniocracy, a democracy is based around people who are effected by the laws being the ones in control of them. As 16 year olds can work, drive, pay taxes, and get arrested, they should be able to influence what the laws are.
I don't know if I exactly agree with allowing 16 year olds to vote because not every single law affects them until they turn 18 and are considered "adults." It might also be a little more pressure onto kids for them to start being treated as adults when they are still minors. But I also do understand the other side of this, like when it comes to gun issues. I would say i'm split in the middle when it comes to 16 year olds voting. I do think that some of the things high schools are doing about walk-outs is a good idea to get attention from the NRA with all these schools around the country, i think it is a great way to raise awareness to this situation.
I think that sixteen-year-olds should be allowed to vote because, while many of them don't always make the best decisions, neither do many adults, and the majority of them make consistently good decisions. The only reason we have the voting limit set to 18 is because Americans decided that if a person is old enough to fight and die for the United States, they should at least be able to choose who they are fighting for. In addition to this, the constitution doesn't say that 16-year-olds can't vote; it just says "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age" meaning that states can't stop anyone over the age of 18 from voting, but for citizens under 18 they can decide. Until younger groups are given the right to vote by states or another amendment to the constitution, which is unlikely to happen, the best way for them to influence politics is to convince adults to vote for their cause. They can do this by talking to their parents and other adults they know or they can plan demonstrations to let adults know how they feel and try to swing some of their votes toward their agenda.
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