Have you ever wished that you could vote for president, for a senator, or in any election? Well, if you are a high school student, your answer doesn’t really matter. But it should.
By the time we are 16 years old, our political beliefs and opinions are much more developed than people give us credit for. Our families, school experiences, and social media all shape our thinking and help us figure out how we feel about important political decisions.
This is why the voting age for elections should be lowered to sixteen-years old. This would allow teens to have their voice heard on important topics to make decisions on political offices.
As we move further into our teens, politics become an important part of our lives. By the time we reach high school, we are becoming mature enough to make important decisions on our own. In the article “Should children vote”, UNICEF states, “A considerable number of experts also assert that a 16-year-old has sufficient cognitive and critical thinking capacities to make political decisions independently.”
One issue that our nation faces today is voter participation, which is especially low among young voters. Although peoples’ interest and commitment to voting increases as they age, overall turnout still falls below where it could possibly be. According to Hannah Hartig and others at PEW Research, “About two-thirds (66%) of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election – the highest rate for any national election since 1900.” While this number was higher than it had been in over one-hundred and twenty years, there is still room for growth.
Having an early start would also make teens more invested in the process and encourage them to register to vote. If this were to happen, overall numbers might grow and remain strong in all elections, rather than just presidential ones.
In some places, voting ages have already been lowered. The “Voting Age Status Report” by the National Youth Rights Association shows that in several states, including Maryland, sixteen- year-olds are allowed to vote in all local elections in some voting districts. In Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Riverdale and Takoma Park, Maryland the voting age was lowered as well as in Brattleboro, Vermont and Oakland, California, Sixteen-year-olds can vote in all local and school board elections, respectively. This a great start and an opportunity for teens in these areas to experience what voting is like for the first time.
Some might argue that allowing sixteen and seventeen-year-olds to vote is a bad decision because teens are “immature” or “not ready,” but I believe we are ready and we should be given a chance to have our voices and opinions heard.
