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julz_ml says:
You can't lower the age because people are preoccupied with insular frivolous topics. 16 year olds voting for the president? No. I'm not saying there aren't teenagers that aren't intelligent enough, because there are, but hopefully, people in college have a broader awareness of their future and what they want to happen.
fernando.sosa says:
Perhaps most 16 year olds are not informed enough to vote, but it is an appropiate age.
What needs to be done is to get those students informed in their schools about the candidates. Getting into detail is crucial.
I do believe the voting age should be 16, if not 15, because if you're informed like me, you would want your voice heard as well.
~uhspresident2011@hot mail.co m
thebeatlesfan08 says:
I don't believe in voting. Whatever person is in power they will do EXACTLY the same thing. That is what we all have to realise.
dreamscaninspire says:
In my personal opinion 16 year olds should be able to vote, but with proper authorization (i.e. interview with school counselor about the subject, transcripts, application to government, etc.). When they lowered the voting age to 18 it was because they were sending 18 year olds to war and they believed that they should be able to choose who sends them to war. Now the age for military enrollment is not lowering (that I know of) but we are in a recession if not fastly approaching one. Since I live in California and we do have sales tax (7.75%), I believe that 16 year olds should have the opportunity to vote for who they want to raise taxes. Even if they make each vote by someone under 18 1/16 of an actual vote, at least it is being counted.
In regards to high school students not being informed, if the candidates feel they can gain resonable amount of votes from them, the candidate will do campaigns to educate them. There are more teenagers than ever before, i think they would probably do something to educate them...
twimoon says:
i belive that seventeens should be allowed to vote. But only with, as dreamscaninspire said, proper autorization. I watch cnn and i know the issues. i feel that if seventeen-year-olds were allowed to vote they should be ones who not only make good grades but watch the poltics and know the issues.
Teens these days know that we are not the top economy in the world any more and we are in an unforgiving war in Iraq. There are so many differt reasons i feel this should happen i don't know where to begin ...
Jesusgirl says:
But all this could cause a problem. Who is to say who is authorized to vote and who isn't. If it were any lower then the governments system would be taken advantage of. What if omeone acted like they cared but in reality only voted for omeone becaue they were cute or whatever. (Which I don't get at all, everyone who runs I feel is ugly or hecka old, no offense to anyone who thinks othewise) Now your saying jut one vote right. Now multiply it ny all the teens. Our nation would collapse. We should leave govorment deciions to the adults.
gweiner says:
In my mind this should be tied to military service and enrollment. Which means I support 17 as the voting age.
Teens Taking Charge says:
I personally believe that 16 is a good age. I admit that some of us 16 year old teenagers are not the smartest ones in the bunch but if we were tought about the presidental canidate and what they stand for we would have a better understanding. Besides we would most likely vote for the same person our parents are. This will also help us to mature so we are ready when we become an adult.
DosomethingforJ... says:
we should be able to vote at thirteen we are the future generation of this country why should we not be allowed to have a voice in this nation?
brutled says:
I believe that 18 is the perfect age
1. At 18 you break away from high school "I am nothing if I am not someone mentality" Voting should not be based on who your friends are voting for, which it would be in highschool and would create even more division.
2. Honestly there is no real argument for 18 but life is to influiential at 16 and younger. I am just afired it would turn in to a joke which it is for a lot of people but we can not afford more of it.
caylacasto says:
hmm, Looks to me like another debate.
18 is a proper age, also one which is taken for granted. I voted this year, as my civic responsibility, and made a more than educated vote. I fear if I had been any younger, I would not have made the same choice. 16? wow, thats trying to put the nation at risk.
The only thing a 16 year old wants is freedom, I think this would be out of hand.
13? no, just no.
alilbit04 says:
Most people at the age of 18 are mature and will actually spend time figuring out what each candidate stands for. There are people who do not research the candidates stand for. That is a waste of a vote. If you are going to vote then please research and understand what the candidate is trying to do. 16 would be a good age if every single 16 year old understood the candidates but of course 16 year olds would not do that. So the voting age should stay at 18.
cw223 says:
I thinks its just fine the way it is..when we all turn 18 we are considered adults and i think thats a good way to but it..maybe 16 would be ok but i still think 18 is the best way
FireFly94 says:
Legal adult, legal vote. don't u think? I mean I kno who i would have voted 4 an im 14 but not all ppl r like that. I think 18 is jus rite. Also i think that if ur not a teenager, u shouldn't have an opinion. no offense or disrespect, its jus that u don't seem 2 b effected by this so its not 4 u 2 judge.
smilecolorsan says:
i would keep it at 18. Coming from where i live, several kids are definately NOT ready to vote. Many kids just listen to how their parents stand on issues although they themselves have never been in a postion of complete responsibility. (Running a home, having a stable job, paying bills, etc.)A lot of teenagers are missing some maturity when voting for something.
lillian542 says:
How many 16 year olds would take the time and effort to register, stand in line, and vote? Hardly any. The ones who are well informed and involved enough in politics to want, and to put in the effort, to should be able to. Certainly, there will be some who just go with what there parents want, but that's not any different from 18 year old or 40 year olds - the vast majority of people I know stick fairly close to the ideologies they were raised with. As for people voting for a candidate for silly reasons, like because they think the candidate is cute, how many people who make political decisions that way are honestly the sort of people who will spend time at age 16 registering and voting?
lillian542 says:
I think it's not a very good idea to have to "apply" and get authorisation. Applying to the government or your school counselor for the right to vote? Too much opportunity for someone's personal political opinions to influence other people's voting eligibility. What happens if a school couselor is a staunch Republican, and the way you explained your understanding of politics in your application makes it clear you'd vote Democrat, or the other way around? Some people certainly would be impartial enough not to judge you based on your political orientation, but some people would have trouble with that. Essentially you'd be giving one person control over many people's votes. Frankly I think it would be completely unacceptable in a democratic society - it couldn't even really be called democracy.
Also, I don't understand how so many people here can act as if once you're 18, you become instentaneously responsible and can handle all adult issues. Sure, you know more, and you're more mature, than you were when you were 16. But if the laws had been different, and you had grown up considering the age for voting, adulthood, elligibility for the army, etc. to be 21 instead of 18, and then someone argued that 18 year olds should be allowed to vote, you would point out that "voting is something best left to adults (21 and over)" and that at 21 people have been in University for several years (hopefully) and have reached a level of maturity that they didn't have right after graduating high school. Therefore voting should be left to the 21 year old mature adults, not the 18 year old children. 18 is not the point when, according to natural law, you become an adult. Its based on societal factors and is different from one culture to another - and there's no reason why a cultures ideas about levels of maturity can't change.
thedelphinater says:
the right to vote shouldn't be based on an age requirement. it should be based on political knowledge, you should have to take a sort of test asking questions about current events and the u.s.'s government. there are plenty of intelligent teens out there that should be able to vote, and lots of adults that definetly shouldn't.
Ballerina1278 says:
I am 15 and I was totally informed on the issues during the presidential election. I feel that 16 would be a perfect age to start voting because you are starting to feel independent. If high schools educate teens on the issues as well as what each candidate stands for, in a totally unbiased way, 16-year-olds can make an informed decision.
pinkcouch123 says:
I really liked this comment. There are so many people that are politically uninformed, and I think that it effects everything to do with the election. People that only vote for Obama because he is black, people that vote for McCain because he is white, or people voting for someone just because they know they are already favored to win. We have a tendency to "jump on the bandwagon". People need to be informed. I am saying this out of experience because although I voted for the last election, I knew little about politics. It turns from what is best for our country to what is most popular.
alabamagirl0994 says:
i think you should be allowed to vote at 16.
the reason i say that is because they have as much
a say in the matter as anyone else about who is running the country they live in.
Rhea_Lynne says:
13 is an approite age because i fell most 13 year olds are informed enough.
i was really disapointed when Obama was elected because, he is imature & irasponsible...
you may say what the heck, but anyone that passes a law supporting abortions (fullterm & otherwise) are imature & irrasponsible.
brittsharp says:
I honestly think 16 years old is a perfectly fine age to vote, I mean im 15 years old. And I feel that I could have voted, except for the fact that the law is that you have to be 18. I mean I was 100% informed on the issues, and everything. Because my mom always had the debate channel on mt TV.
maili118 says:
18 is a fine age for voting. Voting is like a right of passage for us we should not rush it and at sixteen our pirorities arent in order yet and hopefully 18 year olds are more aware of their surroundings so they can really know what they r voting for
a1dodgers says:
at six teen most kids do begin to know alot of their surroundings and i think they should be allowed to vote at six teen
cloepig123 says:
i think the current age is reasonable and should be kept1 18
ironical08 says:
I agree with thedelphinater. Maybe keep the voting age at 18, but have an option for younger people, say 14 or 16 years old, to vote earlier if they pass a test on their knowledge of politics.
pemaquid says:
I agree with the reoccuring idea of having 16 year olds able to vote but only allowing them if they pass a test on the subjects so they are well informed on the choices instead of just being influenced by friends parents etc.
smhsgrad12 says:
I am personally against teens voting at a younger age than eighteen because as a fifteen year old I don't exactly understand what is going on in the world of politics and I am ready to admit that. Schools do no teach us this and at this age there are very few who want to and/or are mature enough to fully understand the power that they have in their hands when they have the opportunity to vote. At eighteen many teens are just getting out into the real world and starting to form their own opinions and bias about society. I just think that at sixteen is to young because a vast majority of teens will feel the need to accompany their parents preference for candidacy. At sixteen, their is too much persuasion involved. The two years between 16 & 18 is an expanded amount of time because of the many choices and responsibilities that teens are given in all aspects of life. How can you expect a teen to know how to vote and/or trust themselves to vote for themselves if they don't even know how to change a light bulb. I'm not saying that teens are incapable at all ( after all I am one) but I am just saying that it is important to know all of the facts or as much as you can before you do something that has a lasting impact, like voting.
tylerhansbrough... says:
I totally agree with dreamscaninspire. Alot of 16 year olds have a great sense of who they want to be the president of the United States. Whether it is Obama or McCain run for the office of president of the United States.
SingerGirl1369 says:
I'm 19 now. I voted in 2008. It's the easiest thing to do. But I could care less about politics. I, at my age, am more concerned with school than someone who believes they can fix a country on their own (I'll explain in a few).
I believe voting should be raised to 21.
1. Most 18 year olds DO NOT VOTE.
2. Most 18 year olds aren't interested in politics.
3. Most 18 year olds are still seniors in High School and when their friends say, "I'm voting for so and so" they are under peer pressure and vote for someone they know NOTHING about because that is who their friends are voting for.
4. Most 18 year olds vote the same way that their parents are. If your parent(s) said to you who they are voting for and why, you will vote the same way.
When you are 21, most of the time, you are busy with school. You have experienced life on your own. You can officially make your own decisions without your parents standing behind you telling you "no it's that one!" or "be careful... you want to do this, not that!" And because you are experiencing life without people influencing you, you are more able to pick who YOU want for your own reasons. You aren't pressured into it.
Now, back to the "I, at my age, am more concerned with school than someone who believes they can fix a country on their own." Well clearly I am referring to the President. Not Obama specifically, but all of them! Presidents do what THEY think would be good for us. They don't care to actually think about what REALLY IS good for us. No matter how many times we send letters, emails, videos, etc. to the government, or the president about things that NEED to be DONE... what do we get in return?
1. Nothing
or
2. An email/letter that I like to call a forward. That person you sent a message to doesn't actually read your message. They get a message from you and the computer/bot sees an email and it forwards a message to you saying something like "thanks for your concern. We'll reply as soon as we can. You may never get a response. Thank you again. -Government/President name here"
That message goes out to EVERYBODY.
Now, if someone in the politic business does try to change something to make us as a nation better, they get impeached. Look at Rob Blagojavich! I live in Illinois. He did nothing wrong. What happened is that he tried to help out us as a state even more, and because the crooked politic guys don't want to help us, they keep turning him down. So he went around them and they got mad. So now he has a trial in 2 years. He isn't even allowed to bring evidence to prove that he did nothing wrong at all. The court he went to (not sure if it was the supreme court or whatever) said to him "If you don't plead guilty, we're putting you and your wife, Patti Blagojavich in jail for 5-7 years for taking a part in helping you steal money, and you will be in jail for over 10." Politics are crooked, and kids at the age of 13, 16, and 18, believe EVERYTHING the media says to them. The media twists everything around. That's what the media does. IT'S THEIR JOB! So the media is making us think that Rob Blagojavich stole money and whatever else, when he didn't. Now his life is ruined forever. Sad thing is nobody cared to think of his two daughters. If he pleads innocent (because he is) he will still go to jail, as well as his beautiful wife. So are his kids now going to become orphans? Are they going to be homeless? Isn't that one thing we as a nation are trying to fix? Why take two perfect kids out of a very good family? Well the answer is, cause that is how America works! Again, thanks to the media...
What makes me mad is how Obama was all like "I had nothing to do with what Blagojavich did. He messed up, blah blah blah." HE TOOK PART OF RUINING 4 PEOPLES' LIVES!!!! if Obama learned to stand up for what was right, maybe rob would've had a chance to plead his case!
Obama only cares about himself and his family. Not one president truly cares about US PEOPLE!!! (some debate about Reagan, but again... different story)
our Preamble is:
WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Well it starts out with WE THE PEOPLE... only thing WE THE PEOPLE have a say in on is who is going to RUIN our country! Nothing else! And if WE THE PEOPLE try to speak and state out beliefs and opinions, we get ignored, shot down, or even arrested because of them. So why does our first amendment even exist? "Freedom of Speech" REALLY? Rob Blagojavich didn't have the freedom to speak!
Sorry for making this so long. I just want all of my reasons out there so you all know why I think that the voting age should be raised.
yeah some topics on here are irrelevant, but maybe if enough people see MY BELIEF and MY OPINION about things, maybe others who feel the same way will stand up and fight with me. We can fight to make OUR NATION a better place. Why allow the government to walk all over us like they have superiority?
and if anyone is thinking, "you're just an Obama hater!" well no i'm not. I am republican and I voted for Obama.
JaQuita says:
I belive that they should have a test or something for people who want to vote under the age of 18 and are intrested in politics or want to vote and if they are 13 or older and pass the test i think they should be able to vote. :-)
EarthHelper101 says:
Sixteen seems like a reasonable age to vote. Although some people say that sixteen year olds might not be responsible enough, I don't believe that. At age sisteen, you are already developing a political view point and that is the point of a democracy, right? The people choose the government officials and teenagers are people too.
Anyway, if you say that teenagers aren't responsible enough to vote... only the responible ones will actually remember to vote so that's kind of a no-point arguement.
keyz2thekingdom says:
at any age it isn't guaranteed that people are well informed enough to vote but lowering the age wouldn't help because most teenagers aren't interested enough in the issues
leaving it at eighteen would probably be best its not guaranteeing that informed citizens vote for the best candidate but its guaranteeing the rights of legal citizens my only issue with eighteen year olds voting is some are still in high school and under the influence of peers and their parents and a lot aren't interested in politics
i don't think there's like a specific right age for voting but might as well make the age you're allowed to do it the legal age
aristo says:
16 year olds should be able to vote, not freely though, it should go with a class or club that doesn't have an affiliation with a particular party, otherwise they may be easily influenced. It should be monitored to insure the individual knows what each hopeful is supporting and not supporting to prove he/she is knowledgeable enough to vote.
B86Alfalfa says:
Either the voting age should be moved to 21 or the drinking age should be 18.
If you aren't old enough to make a decision about how to spend your time (drinking/not), then you shouldn't be old enough to make a decision that effects this entire country. It doesn't fit.
iloveanimalsfor... says:
If you try voting any younger than 18, you may not know what you're getting yourself into.Its a big responsiblility
SMcKnight says:
I believe the voting age should stay as it is.
ourtimeisnow says:
Are sixteen year olds really unequipped to vote? I mean, while our founding fathers were debating the consitution, some thought that only politicians should vote because "the people" were ignorant. And women and black people were denied voting rights because they were considered ignorant. Just because some of us aren't as informed as adults, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a say. As American citizens, this decision impacts our lives too. And aren't we the future people? Shouldn't the next generation of voters be educated and informed? I think the school system should educate us with impartial, factual information if they think that we are too uninformed. Because some kids are a lot more informed than adults. Kids are people too, just like women and black people and other minorities!
I'm 17 and personally I think that it should stay at 18 but that there should be some sort of test and if anybody younger really wants to vote, they should take the test to see if they are qualified to make educated choices rather than choosing whoever has the most posters. That's just my take on it, though.
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You can't lower the age because people are preoccupied with insular frivolous topics. 16 year olds voting for the president? No. I'm not saying there aren't teenagers that aren't intelligent enough, because there are, but hopefully, people in college have a broader awareness of their future and what they want to happen.
Perhaps most 16 year olds are not informed enough to vote, but it is an appropiate age.
What needs to be done is to get those students informed in their schools about the candidates. Getting into detail is crucial.
I do believe the voting age should be 16, if not 15, because if you're informed like me, you would want your voice heard as well.
~uhspresident2011@hot mail.co m
I don't believe in voting. Whatever person is in power they will do EXACTLY the same thing. That is what we all have to realise.
In my personal opinion 16 year olds should be able to vote, but with proper authorization (i.e. interview with school counselor about the subject, transcripts, application to government, etc.). When they lowered the voting age to 18 it was because they were sending 18 year olds to war and they believed that they should be able to choose who sends them to war. Now the age for military enrollment is not lowering (that I know of) but we are in a recession if not fastly approaching one. Since I live in California and we do have sales tax (7.75%), I believe that 16 year olds should have the opportunity to vote for who they want to raise taxes. Even if they make each vote by someone under 18 1/16 of an actual vote, at least it is being counted.
In regards to high school students not being informed, if the candidates feel they can gain resonable amount of votes from them, the candidate will do campaigns to educate them. There are more teenagers than ever before, i think they would probably do something to educate them...
i belive that seventeens should be allowed to vote. But only with, as dreamscaninspire said, proper autorization. I watch cnn and i know the issues. i feel that if seventeen-year-olds were allowed to vote they should be ones who not only make good grades but watch the poltics and know the issues.
Teens these days know that we are not the top economy in the world any more and we are in an unforgiving war in Iraq. There are so many differt reasons i feel this should happen i don't know where to begin ...
But all this could cause a problem. Who is to say who is authorized to vote and who isn't. If it were any lower then the governments system would be taken advantage of. What if omeone acted like they cared but in reality only voted for omeone becaue they were cute or whatever. (Which I don't get at all, everyone who runs I feel is ugly or hecka old, no offense to anyone who thinks othewise) Now your saying jut one vote right. Now multiply it ny all the teens. Our nation would collapse. We should leave govorment deciions to the adults.
In my mind this should be tied to military service and enrollment. Which means I support 17 as the voting age.
I personally believe that 16 is a good age. I admit that some of us 16 year old teenagers are not the smartest ones in the bunch but if we were tought about the presidental canidate and what they stand for we would have a better understanding. Besides we would most likely vote for the same person our parents are. This will also help us to mature so we are ready when we become an adult.
we should be able to vote at thirteen we are the future generation of this country why should we not be allowed to have a voice in this nation?
I believe that 18 is the perfect age
1. At 18 you break away from high school "I am nothing if I am not someone mentality" Voting should not be based on who your friends are voting for, which it would be in highschool and would create even more division.
2. Honestly there is no real argument for 18 but life is to influiential at 16 and younger. I am just afired it would turn in to a joke which it is for a lot of people but we can not afford more of it.
hmm, Looks to me like another debate.
18 is a proper age, also one which is taken for granted. I voted this year, as my civic responsibility, and made a more than educated vote. I fear if I had been any younger, I would not have made the same choice. 16? wow, thats trying to put the nation at risk.
The only thing a 16 year old wants is freedom, I think this would be out of hand.
13? no, just no.
Most people at the age of 18 are mature and will actually spend time figuring out what each candidate stands for. There are people who do not research the candidates stand for. That is a waste of a vote. If you are going to vote then please research and understand what the candidate is trying to do. 16 would be a good age if every single 16 year old understood the candidates but of course 16 year olds would not do that. So the voting age should stay at 18.
I thinks its just fine the way it is..when we all turn 18 we are considered adults and i think thats a good way to but it..maybe 16 would be ok but i still think 18 is the best way
Legal adult, legal vote. don't u think? I mean I kno who i would have voted 4 an im 14 but not all ppl r like that. I think 18 is jus rite. Also i think that if ur not a teenager, u shouldn't have an opinion. no offense or disrespect, its jus that u don't seem 2 b effected by this so its not 4 u 2 judge.
i would keep it at 18. Coming from where i live, several kids are definately NOT ready to vote. Many kids just listen to how their parents stand on issues although they themselves have never been in a postion of complete responsibility. (Running a home, having a stable job, paying bills, etc.)A lot of teenagers are missing some maturity when voting for something.
How many 16 year olds would take the time and effort to register, stand in line, and vote? Hardly any. The ones who are well informed and involved enough in politics to want, and to put in the effort, to should be able to. Certainly, there will be some who just go with what there parents want, but that's not any different from 18 year old or 40 year olds - the vast majority of people I know stick fairly close to the ideologies they were raised with. As for people voting for a candidate for silly reasons, like because they think the candidate is cute, how many people who make political decisions that way are honestly the sort of people who will spend time at age 16 registering and voting?
I think it's not a very good idea to have to "apply" and get authorisation. Applying to the government or your school counselor for the right to vote? Too much opportunity for someone's personal political opinions to influence other people's voting eligibility. What happens if a school couselor is a staunch Republican, and the way you explained your understanding of politics in your application makes it clear you'd vote Democrat, or the other way around? Some people certainly would be impartial enough not to judge you based on your political orientation, but some people would have trouble with that. Essentially you'd be giving one person control over many people's votes. Frankly I think it would be completely unacceptable in a democratic society - it couldn't even really be called democracy.
Also, I don't understand how so many people here can act as if once you're 18, you become instentaneously responsible and can handle all adult issues. Sure, you know more, and you're more mature, than you were when you were 16. But if the laws had been different, and you had grown up considering the age for voting, adulthood, elligibility for the army, etc. to be 21 instead of 18, and then someone argued that 18 year olds should be allowed to vote, you would point out that "voting is something best left to adults (21 and over)" and that at 21 people have been in University for several years (hopefully) and have reached a level of maturity that they didn't have right after graduating high school. Therefore voting should be left to the 21 year old mature adults, not the 18 year old children. 18 is not the point when, according to natural law, you become an adult. Its based on societal factors and is different from one culture to another - and there's no reason why a cultures ideas about levels of maturity can't change.
the right to vote shouldn't be based on an age requirement. it should be based on political knowledge, you should have to take a sort of test asking questions about current events and the u.s.'s government. there are plenty of intelligent teens out there that should be able to vote, and lots of adults that definetly shouldn't.
I am 15 and I was totally informed on the issues during the presidential election. I feel that 16 would be a perfect age to start voting because you are starting to feel independent. If high schools educate teens on the issues as well as what each candidate stands for, in a totally unbiased way, 16-year-olds can make an informed decision.
I really liked this comment. There are so many people that are politically uninformed, and I think that it effects everything to do with the election. People that only vote for Obama because he is black, people that vote for McCain because he is white, or people voting for someone just because they know they are already favored to win. We have a tendency to "jump on the bandwagon". People need to be informed. I am saying this out of experience because although I voted for the last election, I knew little about politics. It turns from what is best for our country to what is most popular.
i think you should be allowed to vote at 16.
the reason i say that is because they have as much
a say in the matter as anyone else about who is running the country they live in.
13 is an approite age because i fell most 13 year olds are informed enough.
i was really disapointed when Obama was elected because, he is imature & irasponsible...
you may say what the heck, but anyone that passes a law supporting abortions (fullterm & otherwise) are imature & irrasponsible.
I honestly think 16 years old is a perfectly fine age to vote, I mean im 15 years old. And I feel that I could have voted, except for the fact that the law is that you have to be 18. I mean I was 100% informed on the issues, and everything. Because my mom always had the debate channel on mt TV.
18 is a fine age for voting. Voting is like a right of passage for us we should not rush it and at sixteen our pirorities arent in order yet and hopefully 18 year olds are more aware of their surroundings so they can really know what they r voting for
at six teen most kids do begin to know alot of their surroundings and i think they should be allowed to vote at six teen
i think the current age is reasonable and should be kept1 18
I agree with thedelphinater. Maybe keep the voting age at 18, but have an option for younger people, say 14 or 16 years old, to vote earlier if they pass a test on their knowledge of politics.
I agree with the reoccuring idea of having 16 year olds able to vote but only allowing them if they pass a test on the subjects so they are well informed on the choices instead of just being influenced by friends parents etc.
I am personally against teens voting at a younger age than eighteen because as a fifteen year old I don't exactly understand what is going on in the world of politics and I am ready to admit that. Schools do no teach us this and at this age there are very few who want to and/or are mature enough to fully understand the power that they have in their hands when they have the opportunity to vote. At eighteen many teens are just getting out into the real world and starting to form their own opinions and bias about society. I just think that at sixteen is to young because a vast majority of teens will feel the need to accompany their parents preference for candidacy. At sixteen, their is too much persuasion involved. The two years between 16 & 18 is an expanded amount of time because of the many choices and responsibilities that teens are given in all aspects of life. How can you expect a teen to know how to vote and/or trust themselves to vote for themselves if they don't even know how to change a light bulb. I'm not saying that teens are incapable at all ( after all I am one) but I am just saying that it is important to know all of the facts or as much as you can before you do something that has a lasting impact, like voting.
I totally agree with dreamscaninspire. Alot of 16 year olds have a great sense of who they want to be the president of the United States. Whether it is Obama or McCain run for the office of president of the United States.
I'm 19 now. I voted in 2008. It's the easiest thing to do. But I could care less about politics. I, at my age, am more concerned with school than someone who believes they can fix a country on their own (I'll explain in a few).
I believe voting should be raised to 21.
1. Most 18 year olds DO NOT VOTE.
2. Most 18 year olds aren't interested in politics.
3. Most 18 year olds are still seniors in High School and when their friends say, "I'm voting for so and so" they are under peer pressure and vote for someone they know NOTHING about because that is who their friends are voting for.
4. Most 18 year olds vote the same way that their parents are. If your parent(s) said to you who they are voting for and why, you will vote the same way.
When you are 21, most of the time, you are busy with school. You have experienced life on your own. You can officially make your own decisions without your parents standing behind you telling you "no it's that one!" or "be careful... you want to do this, not that!" And because you are experiencing life without people influencing you, you are more able to pick who YOU want for your own reasons. You aren't pressured into it.
Now, back to the "I, at my age, am more concerned with school than someone who believes they can fix a country on their own." Well clearly I am referring to the President. Not Obama specifically, but all of them! Presidents do what THEY think would be good for us. They don't care to actually think about what REALLY IS good for us. No matter how many times we send letters, emails, videos, etc. to the government, or the president about things that NEED to be DONE... what do we get in return?
1. Nothing
or
2. An email/letter that I like to call a forward. That person you sent a message to doesn't actually read your message. They get a message from you and the computer/bot sees an email and it forwards a message to you saying something like "thanks for your concern. We'll reply as soon as we can. You may never get a response. Thank you again. -Government/President name here"
That message goes out to EVERYBODY.
Now, if someone in the politic business does try to change something to make us as a nation better, they get impeached. Look at Rob Blagojavich! I live in Illinois. He did nothing wrong. What happened is that he tried to help out us as a state even more, and because the crooked politic guys don't want to help us, they keep turning him down. So he went around them and they got mad. So now he has a trial in 2 years. He isn't even allowed to bring evidence to prove that he did nothing wrong at all. The court he went to (not sure if it was the supreme court or whatever) said to him "If you don't plead guilty, we're putting you and your wife, Patti Blagojavich in jail for 5-7 years for taking a part in helping you steal money, and you will be in jail for over 10." Politics are crooked, and kids at the age of 13, 16, and 18, believe EVERYTHING the media says to them. The media twists everything around. That's what the media does. IT'S THEIR JOB! So the media is making us think that Rob Blagojavich stole money and whatever else, when he didn't. Now his life is ruined forever. Sad thing is nobody cared to think of his two daughters. If he pleads innocent (because he is) he will still go to jail, as well as his beautiful wife. So are his kids now going to become orphans? Are they going to be homeless? Isn't that one thing we as a nation are trying to fix? Why take two perfect kids out of a very good family? Well the answer is, cause that is how America works! Again, thanks to the media...
What makes me mad is how Obama was all like "I had nothing to do with what Blagojavich did. He messed up, blah blah blah." HE TOOK PART OF RUINING 4 PEOPLES' LIVES!!!! if Obama learned to stand up for what was right, maybe rob would've had a chance to plead his case!
Obama only cares about himself and his family. Not one president truly cares about US PEOPLE!!! (some debate about Reagan, but again... different story)
our Preamble is:
WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Well it starts out with WE THE PEOPLE... only thing WE THE PEOPLE have a say in on is who is going to RUIN our country! Nothing else! And if WE THE PEOPLE try to speak and state out beliefs and opinions, we get ignored, shot down, or even arrested because of them. So why does our first amendment even exist? "Freedom of Speech" REALLY? Rob Blagojavich didn't have the freedom to speak!
Sorry for making this so long. I just want all of my reasons out there so you all know why I think that the voting age should be raised.
yeah some topics on here are irrelevant, but maybe if enough people see MY BELIEF and MY OPINION about things, maybe others who feel the same way will stand up and fight with me. We can fight to make OUR NATION a better place. Why allow the government to walk all over us like they have superiority?
and if anyone is thinking, "you're just an Obama hater!" well no i'm not. I am republican and I voted for Obama.
I belive that they should have a test or something for people who want to vote under the age of 18 and are intrested in politics or want to vote and if they are 13 or older and pass the test i think they should be able to vote. :-)
Sixteen seems like a reasonable age to vote. Although some people say that sixteen year olds might not be responsible enough, I don't believe that. At age sisteen, you are already developing a political view point and that is the point of a democracy, right? The people choose the government officials and teenagers are people too.
Anyway, if you say that teenagers aren't responsible enough to vote... only the responible ones will actually remember to vote so that's kind of a no-point arguement.
at any age it isn't guaranteed that people are well informed enough to vote but lowering the age wouldn't help because most teenagers aren't interested enough in the issues
leaving it at eighteen would probably be best its not guaranteeing that informed citizens vote for the best candidate but its guaranteeing the rights of legal citizens my only issue with eighteen year olds voting is some are still in high school and under the influence of peers and their parents and a lot aren't interested in politics
i don't think there's like a specific right age for voting but might as well make the age you're allowed to do it the legal age
16 year olds should be able to vote, not freely though, it should go with a class or club that doesn't have an affiliation with a particular party, otherwise they may be easily influenced. It should be monitored to insure the individual knows what each hopeful is supporting and not supporting to prove he/she is knowledgeable enough to vote.
Either the voting age should be moved to 21 or the drinking age should be 18.
If you aren't old enough to make a decision about how to spend your time (drinking/not), then you shouldn't be old enough to make a decision that effects this entire country. It doesn't fit.
If you try voting any younger than 18, you may not know what you're getting yourself into.Its a big responsiblility
I believe the voting age should stay as it is.
Are sixteen year olds really unequipped to vote? I mean, while our founding fathers were debating the consitution, some thought that only politicians should vote because "the people" were ignorant. And women and black people were denied voting rights because they were considered ignorant. Just because some of us aren't as informed as adults, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a say. As American citizens, this decision impacts our lives too. And aren't we the future people? Shouldn't the next generation of voters be educated and informed? I think the school system should educate us with impartial, factual information if they think that we are too uninformed. Because some kids are a lot more informed than adults. Kids are people too, just like women and black people and other minorities!
Im not so sure either. I think this image shall have a negative effect on her PR. wool rugs facilities management jobs facilities manager jobs
I'm 17 and personally I think that it should stay at 18 but that there should be some sort of test and if anybody younger really wants to vote, they should take the test to see if they are qualified to make educated choices rather than choosing whoever has the most posters. That's just my take on it, though.