Voting At 16 Research Paper

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Americans eighteen and older vote for the next commander in chief every four years. But, what about the sixteen and seventeen year olds that want a say on who the next president of the United States should be? At the age of sixteen and seventeen, teens start to think about adulthood and their future. Many teens feel that their opinions do not matter. This essay will argue reasons why the voting age should be lowered to sixteen. First of all, if the voting age is lowered, more teens would engage in politics. Yamiche Alcindor, a writer for New York Times, states that “Advocates (of a campaign to lower the voting age), however, argue that lowering the voting age would increase turnout, allow teenagers to weigh in on issues that directly affect …show more content…
A writer for the Economist wrote in an article about lowering the voting age that “The usual threshold of 18 means that young people’s first chance to vote often coincides with finishing compulsory education and leaving home. Away from their parents, they have no established voters to emulate and little connection to their new communities”(The Economist). Also, the writer states that “ Sixteen-year-olds, by contrast, can easily be added to it and introduced to civic life at home and school. They can pick up the voting habit by accompanying their parents to polling stations” (The Economist). Basically this author is saying that by the time teenages finally get the right to vote, they also have to focus on leaving home, college, and accepting the new habitat they live in. Whereas sixteen year olds who can get into the habit of voting by going to vote with their parents. Youth have comfortable surroundings, school, parents, and stable friends, they feel connected to their community, these are factors that will increase their desire and need to vote. “Voting at 16 would make it easier to initiate new citizens in civic life. Above all, it would help guarantee the supply of young voters needed to preserve the vitality of democracy. Catch them early, and they will grow into better citizens” (The

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