If the government had a vote to make the voting age 16, would you be for or against it?

Answer 1

I'd be against it, but I would be for raising it to 21, except for members of the armed services, national guard or state militia who could vote at 18.

Answer 2

Against it. Statistics show that a very small percentage of 18-24 year olds vote in the first place, which is fine because the reason most of them don't vote is that they simply don't care, and people who are not educated on the issues they are voting on and know which candidates best represent their personal views SHOULD NOT BE VOTING.

If you made the voting age even YOUNGER, you would be allowing people to vote who are even less educated.

I'm not saying that this is a horrible thing. I would hope that no one would vote without knowing exactly what they are voting for. Voting is not a poplularity contest and SHOULD NOT be about who spends the most money and has the most television exposure. It should also not be about PARTIES and voting the same way your parents did. Young people THINK they have more things to worry about than the government and policy matters, and most of the time they are partly correct, so they don't give a damn about voting, and that is perfectly fine.

Also remember that the voting age was 21 for the majority of our history. The main reason that the age was moved back to 18 during the Vietnam era was that many felt that if you were old enough to be drafted to go to war (for which the minimum age was 18), then you SHOULD be old enough to vote for the policies and representatives that oversee that war. Old enough to die, old enough to vote was the slogan.

Letting 16 year olds vote would be absolutely absurd, and if anything the age should be raised!!

Answer 3

against - 16 year olds may know how to drive, but not know how to make informed decisions about politics. That is why I agree with the voting age at 18. 16 year olds would also vote too much with their emotions. I know there are some adults who do that, but most adults vote after thinking about what the candidates stand for.

Answer 4

Against ts it and I'm 19 so I know that most 16 year old are not at a point to be given that kind of power. Most 16 years old's hold no interest and don't really know all the things they need to know before voting.

Answer 5

For it.
Most people who are of voting age, do not vote.
Funny to imagine how quickly that would change if those same eligible voters were scared into making the effort by the sheer numbers of 16 year olds who WOULD bother to vote.
Besides, 16 year olds are probably more aware of politics via schools current events than most adults!

Answer 6

When you see how stupid the average person is, whether you are 16 or 18 or 38 or whatever, you start wondering if anyone should be voting. Its not that Im against self-determination, but don't you hate that sometimes people vote on things that affect you in ways that you think are contrary to your natural nights?

Answer 7

I'd be more in favor of getting the 18 to 30 year olds to start exercising their right to vote. In the last election less than 40% of the eligible voters in this age group turned out.

Answer 8

AGAINST!

You're not allowed to sign a contract at 16, yet you should be allowed to decide the direction of the country? I'd really like to see a few changes made to the voting laws.

1 - You must be 21-years-old to vote unless you are in the military.

2 - If you are on welfare (you know, not contributing to society, but leeching off of us working people), you DO NOT VOTE. If you are not putting any money into the kitty, why should you have any say on how it is spent?

3 - You should have to show a government-issued photo ID to be allowed to vote. We need to stop people who have been voting for their dead relatives for decades. We need to stop the people who vote twice by getting an absentee ballot and still going to the polls.

4 - People who get caught cheating (as mentioned above) should be convicted of treason. The penalty needs to be serious so that less people will even try.

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Answer 9

Wouldn't matter - only something like 5% of 18 year-olds vote, what difference will 2 years make? I think they should grandfather voting - if you'll be 18 while the person is still in office, you should be able to vote.

Answer 10

i would vote for it..at the age of 16 a majority of 16 year old suffer from the poor voting of people over the age of 18..most vote affect the younger age rather than the seniors..so if we could adjust life to be in favor of us we should be able to vote..why should an adult decide weather or not we should do this or that..we should be able to decide..if we can do this of that....also...we get trialed as an adult in case of some illegal activity(ies) commited...so we can't vote about the law taht affects us...just as it affects an 18 year old it affect a 16 year...so...why do 18 vote and 16 vote...as a matter of fact..if you don't see it...many younger kids are gettnig involved into politics...we have an opinion..so were bound to stick with an opinion and not be able to do anything about it..that is absurb...I declare that the voting limit be decreased by two years...chech it out..go to the street and ask many kids do you know George Busch...would u have voted for him..more than half would have an answer other than..IDK...+ how can u be certain of an amount of % or kids intrested in politics..its not as if they asked everykid...they took a rought estimate..I could do that two and say only 2% of 22 y/o votes....Statistics are not right unless surveyed aby all...I'm with it..16 y/o should vote

Answer 11

I would be against it; with the right to vote should come the ability to accept responsibility for the results of the vote, and a 16-year-old in our society is effectively powerless in terms of independence.