Arguments Against Lowering The Voting Age

Voting is important to American Democracy because it provides people an opportunity to voice their opinion and vote for what they believe in, it holds elected officials accountable for their behavior while in office, and it prevents a minority from dictating the policies of a majority. The 15th Amendment has made the American voting process more democratic, African Americans could not vote because of their skin. When the new year began in 1869, the Republicans were ready to introduce a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the black man’s right to vote. For two months, Congress considered the proposed amendment. Several versions of the amendment were submitted, debated, rejected and then reconsidered in both the House and Senate.

There are a number of differences in the demographics between the ones that are and are not politically involved. Older people tend to vote more than the younger people by their concern toward the government, as well as the number of white Americans voting more than the other minority races would. The educated will vote more than the uneducated by having more knowledge of the election, along with families with higher income of over $65,000 having time to vote than the low income ones of $35,000 or under. The ones who shows party identification would want to get involved in politics, whereas independent individual would not care as much. People who grew up with specific ideology would want to have a say in politics, in contrast to those who did not.

Abi H. Civic Reflection Issue 1- Change in Point of View: In Canada, voter turnout has become a major issue; as there is a large amount of the population that does not vote in elections. Back in 2008, a total of 58% of the countries` population voted in the election. This is a startling low number, which since has begun to increase only slightly in recent years. In a democratic society, voting is essential for it to function with its full potential. Doing so enacts one of your basic responsibilities as a citizen, as well as shows that you are staying involved in your community and government.

The 26th amendment states “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” My opinion on the 26 amendment is that the voting age should be lowered to 16 instead of 18. I also believe the 2nd amendment should be change which also expresses “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Changing the 26th amendment could gradually increase society being safer. I feel the 26th amendment should be change because people of teenage years seem to know just as much about politics as much as older people.

Wow! I did not realize that the economy was set back 168 million dollars. I knew they spent millions, but did not know the true amount. I am in the same boat you are Kylee. I did not realize the voting age was changed after the Vietnam War.

In The united States the legal drinking age is 21 and many people have different opinions about that. The controversial topic brings many opinions, Should the drinking age be lowered ? Many people see it different ways and bring up good points but in many places in the world the drinking age is 18 and I agree that the united states should lower the drinking age. Furthermore at the age of 18 you turn to an adult a person pays bills for their car, house, and many other things.

Why kids under 18 should be allowed to vote I personally believe that all kids under 18 should be allowed to vote in elections. I think that it’s about time that we changed how the voting system works because most adults aren’t voting anyways. This is our future. What’s the point if the future generation isn’t even allowed to vote for who they think should be the leader?

Should the drinking age really be lowered when it could do more harm than what it already does now? Many people are protesting the drinking age to be lowered to 18 because that's when people technically become an adult. But humans are not reaching their full potential due to the drinking age has been already too low. The drinking age should be raised because scientific studies show that the human brain is still developing until the age of 25.

The public agrees 72 percent of adults think that lowering the drinking age would make alcohol more accessible to kids, and nearly half think that it would increase binge drinking among teens. Lowering the drinking age would worsen the problems of underage and binge drinking. Advocates often point out that if a young adult is old enough to go to war and vote, he should have the power to imbibe alcoholic beverages. Does society think we should lower or higher the drinking age? Research indicates that when the minimum legal drinking age is 21, people under age 21 drink less overall and continue to do so through their early 20s.

Despite the waning support for amending the constitution to alter the way American’s cast their ballots, throughout each election cycle media outlets discuss the fear surrounding the minority candidate, in terms of the popular vote, becoming the President. In an interesting article published by Forbes magazine just before the 2012 elections Taylor Broderick discusses the fifteenth, nineteenth, and twenty-sixth amendments and explains how these create a precedent for altering the U.S. voting system through amending the Constitution (Brodarick, 2012). He also argues that the Electoral College incites voter apathy in states which are not saturated with campaign efforts. In other words, people are more likely to participate in an election if they live in swing-states where candidates are actively campaigning. For these reasons, along with American’s historical opposition, Broderick believes politicians should gain public support for Congressional action, as Bayh did in the late 1960s, to throw out the current voting procedure.

Everyone deserves a chance to vote. I feel that at the age of sixteen citizens should have the right to vote. No matter the age, if younger teens are able to understand the importance and good deeds of whomever may be funning for a position, they should be able to vote for them. Another thing is every vote counts. I do not know why the voting age is eighteen in the United States.

Many statistics change over the years, however, one that has been steadily decreasing is the voter turnout. Which is odd considering the overall population has increased roughly 3.3 million every year. Many theories have been proposed to attempt and increase these numbers and encourage more people to vote, but none have really been put into action. There must be a better way. First lets cover possible reasons why the turnout has decreased.