Should teens have the right to vote? Why or why not? What are the pros and cons?

Question

When I say teens, I mean teens from ages 13-17. So should teens have the right to vote? I mean they are citizens or this country and should have a say of what happens to themselves.But maybe teens arent ready to do something like this. What do you guys think? What are the pros/cons of teen voting. Please support with facts. And think about it from both perspective; teens and adults.

Thanx!!!

and plz tell me the answer from both points of view,
if u were a teen (unless u are)-what would u think?
if u were 18+(unless u are)-what would u think?

And what does it have to do with age? I mean someone who is 18 could be as stupid as a 12 year old or someone who is 13 could be as "wise" as a 19 year old.

And people a lot of times think that teenagers are rude, disrespectful, idiots. I admit some are and they pay for it in the end but not all teens are like that. I mean, a lot of them are responsible and good people.

Also, like a lot of people say that when you are 18 you tend to be more mature. I mean what is the difference from that and being 18? It is only 1 year really,

Answer 1

This was an answer to a similar question an hour ago that I gave. It's not really an answer, more of an opinion, but that's basically what you are asking for.

People rant about teenagers being stupid, because a lot of them are. Some aren't and as long as they passed some sort of competency test, I wouldn't see a problem with it. A lot of teenage problems appear, because elders treat them as kids, when in fact, most are fully functioning adults by that age.

The job market does not have the ability to provide them with jobs, the education system is a pile of garbage in most cases, and they are often stuck doing nothing for 4 years after the age of 16. An incredible waste of time if you think about it. Most teenagers wouldn't vote anyway, and the ones that do, could have their voice heard, just like the rest of the population. The restriction is mostly artificial. It's more of a culture problem than an age problem, and cultures/customs are hard to change.

Answer 2

I applaud you for being interested in politics. In my neck of the woods, that's a bit of a rarity. Honestly, I didn't start really paying attention to politics until I was in my late twenties. I voted for the first time in my life when I was thirty-two. Before then, I was too busy focusing on my career and personal life to pay much attention. The more I talk to people, the more I discover that my story is by no means unique. That being said, I don't think giving younger people the right to vote would make much on an impact. Most teens wouldn't put keeping up on the issues and making it to the polls as a top priority. The few who do may well be capable of making informed choices. But at the same time while looking at the big picture, I do feel that most teens aren't really in the position to appreciate many of the issues. Generally they aren't experienced with issues such as rising interest rates, cost of living, the various taxes (with the exception of sales and income tax), and whatnot. They may have strong opinions on issues that directly affect them, such as education at the grade school level or other restrictions placed on people under a certain age, but may well lose interest when asked to look at the big picture. Another pitfall being that they might latch on to just one thing they agree with a candidate on and ignore the cons about that candidate. Just as an example, suppose a candidate promises to lower the drinking age to sixteen... and that same candidate wants to raise taxes by 40%. I suspect taxes wouldn't be what the young voters would be talking about while rallying for that candidate. But to be fair, I've seen plenty of adults who vote with only one aspect of the candidate in mind.

Answer 3

I don't think that 13-17 year olds know enough about this country to vote for a President. But I do think that teenagers who are old enough to fight for this country have the `right' to vote and also the right to drink alcohol if they wish. If you can fight or die for the United States then you should have all the rights of an `adult'.

Answer 4

Sorry, but no. Even 18 may be too young. Most teens, (not all, but by far the majority) have a hard time deciding what to wear to school or who to ask to the prom, let alone develop a truly informed opinion on complicated issues. Plus, it is notoriously easy to talk them into almost anything, (Hence the pedophile predators) even over a computer link. Heck, the first candidate who can define "WOOT" would suck most kids in. I say let 'em be kids for a while. They'll all get their turn to screw things up. Just like we got ours.

Answer 5

I don't think you can trust a thirteen year old to make a good decision for thge future of the country. They will probably just vote for whoever their parents tell them too. 18 is probably a good age really, as it is when most kids begin becoming independent and therefore gain their own views.

Besides, I don't think most teens would want to vote, and it would be particularly bad in countries with compulsory voting.

Answer 6

No. Even though I am a teen and I understand politics most teens would just vote without really knowing where there candidate stands.

Answer 7

"Teens" is too general. I would say, if a "teen" who has been a regular taxpayer, for at least six months straight, and is currently one, SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOTE, because the government is sustained by taxpayers, period. So, if a 17-year-old, for whatever reason is already a regular taxpayer, he/she should have a say on who would be better at getting paid by his/her taxes.

For example, many women will vote for Clinton only because she's female, no other reason. And many will vote against Obama because he's black. This goes against the idea of people "being too young to think brightly". Is a gender or race vote a bright one? Both the woman and the white racist can vote with bias, only because they are "of age", even though they may not even be taxpayers themselves.

In other words, IMO voting should be a privilege of taxpayers who are legal citizens of the country, no matter what their age is.

Answer 8

I think it would be great to let all the teens vote for a teen representative, that sits in Congress but doesn't vote. It'd be wonderful way to introduce them to the political process.
As for the main election I'd say not.

Answer 9

No. They are not legal adults. Also, they are not emotionally mature enough to make good decisions on voting.

Liberals would love it because they would get most of the votes.

Answer 10

No they shouldn't have a right to vote.

Entire populations of certain states shouldn't be allowed to vote, but they are so it's bad enough without people who support Hannah Montana trying to vote.