Should the voting age be lowered to 16 years old or stay at 18 years old? There is a movement in progress currently that is attempting to get the voting age lowered from age 18 to age 16. They are a group who call themselves “Generation Citizens” and have named this movement “VOTE16USA”. They argue that in most states 16 and 17 year olds can drive independently, attain a job, pay taxes and even be tried as an adult in a court of law; therefore, why should they be subjected to wait two more years before they are given the privilege to vote? The Generation Citizens wrote a paper that presents their arguments in an attempt to gain more support. In the paper they list all of their reasons that they believe justify the voting age being lowered to
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There have been scientific studies that have proven that the majority of emotional and intellectual maturity is reached between the ages of 15 and 22 years old for most people. The specific development that relates to voting is what psychologists have named “cold cognition”. This type of cognition is just as developed in 16 year olds as in any adult. This “cold cognition” is relevant to the right to vote because it deals mainly with the brains ability to gather evidence and act according to their findings and their own beliefs on their findings. This means that 16 and 17 year olds are just as able as any adult to vote. This is because they can hear about/research candidates and then possess the ability to make an intelligent decision between which candidates they believe would most benefit the people (Steinberg, …show more content…
This includes their ability to vote in elections. The study found that on average the majority of 16 year olds were on the same educational level of young adults, specifically concerning civic knowledge. Therefore, it can be seen that 16 and 17 year olds possess the same understanding and abilities as 21 year olds. If these 16 and 17 year olds have the knowledge to participate in the elections they why are they being denied their right to exercise it? This study proposes this question in its inferences as to why age should hinder the use of knowledge.
There have been scientific studies that have proven that the majority of emotional and intellectual maturity is reached between the ages of 15 and 22 years old for most people. The specific development that relates to voting is what psychologists have named “cold cognition”. This type of cognition is just as developed in 16 year olds as in any adult. This “cold cognition” is relevant to the right to vote because it deals mainly with the brains ability to gather evidence and act according to their findings and their own beliefs on their findings. This means that 16 and 17 year olds are just as able as any adult to vote. This is because they can hear about/research candidates and then possess the ability to make an intelligent decision between which candidates they believe would most benefit the people (Steinberg, …show more content…
This includes their ability to vote in elections. The study found that on average the majority of 16 year olds were on the same educational level of young adults, specifically concerning civic knowledge. Therefore, it can be seen that 16 and 17 year olds possess the same understanding and abilities as 21 year olds. If these 16 and 17 year olds have the knowledge to participate in the elections they why are they being denied their right to exercise it? This study proposes this question in its inferences as to why age should hinder the use of knowledge.