Should the Voting Age Be Lowered?

AuthorSteinberg, Laurence
PositionDebate

In many states, 16-year-olds can drive, get a job, and must pay taxes on their wages. But one thing most of them aren't allowed to do? Vote.

The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 from 21. But while the amendment gives every American who's at least 18 the right to vote, it doesn't prevent cities or states from allowing those younger to cast ballots. In fact, a few U.S. cities already allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections, and lawmakers in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island are considering lowering the voting age to 17. Now a recent wave of student activism is further fueling the debate about lowering the voting age nationwide.

Two researchers square off about whether that would be a good idea.

YES

The students who are calling for gun control in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, are challenging the stereotype of American kids as lazy and uninterested in politics. Unfortunately, when it comes to electing lawmakers whose decisions about gun control and other issues affect their lives, these teens lack any real power. This needs to change.

Critics will no doubt raise questions about the ability of 16-year-olds to make informed decisions in the voting booth. Aren't the brains of young people not fully developed enough to make good judgments? Aren't young people impulsive and hotheaded?

Not in a situation like voting, which isn't something done on the spur of the moment. It's done calmly in a voting booth and with much deliberation. Studies show that by age 16, young people in this kind of situation can gather and process information, weigh pros and cons, and reason logically with facts. Teens may sometimes make bad deliberative choices, but they don't make them any more often than adults do.

There's also a civic argument for allowing younger teens to vote. Take the dozen or so countries that allow people to vote at 16, including Argentina, Austria, Brazil, and Nicaragua. In such countries, voter turnout among 16- and 17-year-olds is significantly higher than it is among older young adults.

That's important because there's evidence that people who don't vote the first time they're eligible are less likely to cast ballots regularly in the future. Considering that 18- to 24-year-olds have the lowest turnout of any age group in the U.S., allowing people to begin voting even younger--when they're more likely to cast...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT