Do you think your brain is fully developed? Scientists have found that young people’s brains fully develop at a later age than scientists thought. There has been a lot of conversation about lowering the voting age to 16. This would cause negative consequences for our democracy.

Berkley, California, and Takoma Park, Maryland, let 16-year-olds vote in local elections. So why is it so bad if we change the 26th Amendment that sets the voting age at 18? Most teens don’t understand how the government works, can be easily persuaded, and are less motivated to participate in politics than older voters. Changing the voting age would be more challenging because it requires approval from two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures. From recent studies, the 18-29 age group has a meager voter turnout, which suggests people aren’t ready to vote until later in life. This is a prime example of changing the age 16 would not be beneficial to our government and our country as a whole. What happens if this significant change gets approved? We must educate our children on the importance of voting and allow them to form their own political opinions. It is our core quality of citizenship to be able to participate in voting. Do you think lowering the voting age would be beneficial?

References:

Chan T.W., Clayton M. Should the voting age be lowered to sixteen? Normative and empirical considerations. Political Studies. 2006;54:533–558. [Google Scholar]

Oosterhoff, B., Wray-Lake, L., & Hart, D. (2021). Reconsidering the Minimum Voting Age in the United States. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(2), 174569162199422. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621994221

Starecheski, Anna, & Anastasia, Laura. (2020, August). Debate: Should the Voting Age Be Lowered? Classroommagazines.scholastic.com; scholastic. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/election/civics-in-action/voting–should-the-voting-age-be-lowered.html