Should the Voting Age be Lowered to 17?

No (d) or (r) being printed on the ballot would be a good start. Most'a yer 16 year old idiots wouldn't know a Senator from their mama's ass in the first place. Then maybe 5 or ten years later after they learn about politics maybe actually they'll want to show up to vote for a good reason.

 

The mama's ass is less full of crap, right?

 

I'd prefer if the age was increased but, we would suspending the rights of those who had the right to vote or were about to.

 

The human brain isn't fully developed until age 25.

 

Sure, as long as they pass a fluency test in reading and writing ENGLISH. Boom, there goes that idea in Cali.

 

Older voters are more likely to believe the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

Teenagers are more likely to have never heard of Pearl Harbor.

 

12 year olds are smart enough to know Hillary was the worst candidate in history. Democrats are so silly.

 

Basic history I suppose, but then again why does it matter in terms of making good policy decisions? In a specific sense, at least. Sure knowing history can help us not repeat it, but the policy lesson of pearl harbor is...? More important to realize that drug interdiction doesn't reduce drug consumption, for example. Or to be balanced that studies do NOT consistently demonstrate that restricting gun access improves crime. Another area important to understand would be the bill of rights and the constitution. These things might require a few years of study to understand, but not being 18 would not preclude it. I was captain of the debate team back in high school, so i saw that understanding first hand.

 

No and, if anything, it should probably be raised, considering most 18 year olds are quite immature and clueless.

 

What is it with you wanting to act as if children are adults? They are not. I don't care how "mature" you are at 18. According to the newest and cutting edge scientific data, you are still a child at 18. That science is not good enough for you? You are going to argue that like 1% of the 18-year-old population is mature? Good grief.

 

I can't believe some of you would like to abolish the voting age. That's just crazy talk and now I know not to take you seriously.

Do you also want 10-year-olds driving, drinking, smoking?

 

Make it so on the ballot there is no party information next to peoples names. Obviously for the presidency people will know who is who but outside of that I would bet 90% of the people wouldn’t have a clue who is a democrat or who is a republican.

It would make it that if you want to vote then you are going to have to actually do some research on the candidates, which most people probably wouldn’t do. So the dumb and lazy will not vote for anyone..

 

The point is that "majority rule" is a terribke concept if you look at it from the side of the "losing minority". By abolishing voting and instead giving everyone full, individual freedom, paradise would rise on Earth.

No, but to be more realistic, why is it crazy to lower the voting age, but not to raise it? Why is it crazy talk to abolish voting but not crazy talk to expand voting?

I am not at all a big fan of nation-wide democracy and big government, but if we are to have these entities, it actually makes sense for even fetuses to vote since politicians make decisions even about them.

Strawman.

Btw. In US 15 year olds can drive and from a Swedish persoective that is really fu-ed up (here the legal age is 18 lul).

Never understood what sort of commitee sets these age restrictions anyways.
"Hi and welcome. Today we are restricting movies. Let's start with the age limit for The Lion King."
"18!"
"3 years and 1 week!"
"7!"
"Ooooh, me gusta."
"7 it is. Case closed....Now let's move to the matter of bicycle helmets."

 

Age limits are set by generalities. If it is a "G" rated, then it is intended for general audiences. Most Disney cartoons are G rated. If there is some violence that might be seen as confusing for some young children, then there might be an age restriction of 13 or above, when they are "generally" able to figure out fact from fantasy.

No, we should not do away with voting. That is retarded as hell. Politicians are elected by the people to represent the people. That is why it it is SO important that you do your homework when you vote. I don't wish to live in a monarchy, thanks. That is why The United States was created, to escape tyranny by government or kings/queens.

 

Yeah and that is absolutely retarded.

Oh, yeah? A few 100 to represent 100's of millions? How is that fair? Yeah, Murica was created on beautiful principles but the thing is that government is evil by default; today Murica has the largest gov in the world.

How many people actually "do their homework" though? If a 14 year old sits down and reads through the programmes of all parties, isn't (s)he, by this logic, then a "better voter" than the 75 year old who votes GOP "because my family has done itbsince the beginning of time"? Isn't this a reason to lower the age?

Very few, if any, "do their homework" before voting. So this is actually an argument against democracy.

I much rather have a monarchy than a minister-rule. If you are unhappy, it takes only one bullet.

 

I believe the science you're referring to points to continuing development into the 20s. The idea that this means they are still children is silly. Much like a high IQ and education can delay the clinical manifestations of dementia, so too can an intelligent 16 year old make better decisions than an average 36 year old. Historically people were treated as adults when they were teens, so they clearly can function that way. In contrast, actual children really are developmentally unable to function as adults. But where is the line? Age per se is not an ideal stand-alone criterion, and so a test could be utilized to identify those with the knowledge and intelligence to contribute reasonable voices to our politics.

 

Trading one tyranny for another. Except now it's of the average person instead of the hereditary elite. It's the bill of rights that protects us from tyranny, not voting.

A better system would put smart people in charge with an aptitude test, but with checks on their power.

 

It's not "tyranny" to allow children to grow up before leaving them with the burden of making grown up decisions.

 

Yes age 21 is a better requirement as they have by then rented an apartment,paying bills on their own,maintaining their car,so on.

IQ tests are always subjective and useless, as there are plenty of high IQ people still making dumb decisions out there,voting could be one of them. Not only that it could allow government to have leverage over someone they target,can't do that with age.

Trying to argue that since age 18 for the military service is in place,therefore so should voting, drinking, and having sex. It is a bad argument since each of the listed have a maturity level built into it.

You can physically succeed in boot camp at age 18, but lack experience for voting matters, as 18 year old's has not yet lived on their own,to better understand what is required in being independent and making a living.

Anyone can drink,but at what level can they be mature enough to handle it responsibly,same for sex which boys and girls can do easily as early as age 12 or so,but understandable restrictions are in place to protect girls and to help them finish schooling.

 

What a bunch of hyperbolic crap. The idea that we should let children vote or do anything like that is utterly ridiculous.

 

There really is no accurate way to measure someone's level of maturity either.

 

It's funny you call it crap, and then make a statement that has nothing to do with what you quoted.

 

The number of teenagers that follow current events and have a functional knowledge of what is going on in the world is between 1% and 2%.

 

I was referring to tyranny of the majority. The post you quoted was an argument against using democracy at all; it wasn't about "children". Democratic republic, I know.

 

Similar levels for adults, I would say.