Voting Age Should Be 25

To protect our democracy and improve the decision-making of voters, the voting age should be 25. There are two reasons for this.

One, at 25, the prefrontal cortex, which is fundamental to decision making, is fully developed. Therefore, this follows that the youngest voter will at least be at the age where their decision-making faculties are best employed to make a better-informed decision.

Two, at 25, the youngest voter will have had a quarter-century of life experience, which means more wisdom to make a better-informed decision. Furthermore, at 25, if they went to college, they will have 3 years of post-graduation experience. If they graduated high school at 18, but did not go to college, then they would have 6 years of work experience.

In conclusion, the voting age should be 25. Both sides of the aisle say that they care about preserving our democracy. What better way to demonstrate the love for democracy, for our republic, for our country, then ensure that the minimum age for voters be an age that they are more wiser and psychologically more mature to make the best decision for this country.

 

Voting age should be 16 now. I find kids that age more mature than many who are 50, 60, 70 and older. A 16 year old has gone through life experience that the latter have not. They have grown up doing school shooter drills and being afraid of being killed by a gun-nut with an assault weapon. THAT is a life experience that people over 50 had never and will never have. They have seen a criminal President in the White House. They have seen how right-wing science denial has caused more death during a pandemic, and they have experienced the effects of Climate Change first hand. They live in a world in which their classmate who was raped is forced by the government to carry their child through the whole pregnancy even though it may cost her her life. People over 50 DO NOT have that much life experience.

 

That sounds live reverse ageism. Very dismissive and disrespectful.

If they are old enough to serve in the military, they are old enough to vote. Either you're too young to know why the voting age was lowed to 18 in 1972, or else you've forgotten.

 

Great idea! Except many of these young adults work part time jobs and work after graduation. What happened to no taxation without representation?

 

then they should not be allowed to enlist in the military either

 

But they are relying on The Young and naive to vote for the party that promises free handouts and rainbows and unicorns

 

I completely agree. The nasty business of war should be left to the adults, not the nearly adults.

 

So they should vote for the party that says they are brainwashed??

Righties are so confused as to why a demographic they sh*t on every single day doesn't want to vote for them.

 

Just wait until the little kids get older and realize that money doesn't grow on trees and their generation will be left holding the bill.

There's a reason people tend to be more conservative as they get older.

You have an opinion while I have a fact.

 

I am early 50s and left leaning, yet still, I believe, based on science, that the vote, drinking, drugs and war are the for those 25 and older.

 

voting should begin at conception, shouldn't it? there is a good reason voting age was lowered to 18, and will require a constitutional amendment to change.

 

In the military they are taking orders from adults. Name one general or admiral that is below the age of 25. And the president is the commander-in-chief, and they must be at least 35, ten years higher in age than my proposal. Is the Constitution a product of "reverse ageism" when it comes to the presidency? The prefrontal cortex is not fully online until 25. Shouldn't you want someone whose prefrontal cortex, which is fundamental to decision making, is fully developed?

 

The youngest age to work in the United States is fourteen. 14-year-olds cannot vote, although considering that the majority of House Democrats voted to try to lower the voting age to 16, I don't see how that might not be the future, if the Democrats had their way. Therefore, considering the precedent, more nuance is added to that phrase.

 

Yeah, we know how the left thrives on the dumbing down of voters. Now 16 year olds have more life experiences because they went through shooting drills?
Really makes my point, lol

 

The brainwashed doesn't know they are brainwashed.
But the left does thrive on the dumbing down of voters

 

And yet, I knew more about the country's issues at age 19 than many of those who post on this forum today.

It doesn't take age, it takes interest and involvement. Also, I think it's very patronizing and insulting to claim that soldiers can't think for themselves.

If we want to means-test voting, I would prefer we use intellect rather than age. We can't legally drive a car without passing a test, so perhaps we should be tested before being registered to vote. Just simple Civics 101 stuff, and a few questions about the Constitution and basic history.

 

That's anecdotal and has not basis.

I did not say that soldiers can't think for themselves. I am saying that their ability to make decisions is not as good at 18 than at 25. That is why they have guidance from older, more-seasoned soldiers. New recruits don't run military units. There is an entire chain of command, and the higher it goes, generally speaking, the more older the person is.

Generally speaking, do you not believe that 25-year-olds make better decisions than 18-year-olds?

Do you not believe there should be an age limit at all?

Are you disagreeing that the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed at 25? Are you disagreeing that the prefrontal cortex is fundamental to decision making? Are you saying that decision making is unimportant when it comes to voting?

I agree that testing should also be included.

 

The voting age use to be 21. However, the old farts who started Vietnam refused to fight it and sent children instead. The children were upset that they had no vote yet were forced to fight. So the voting age was lowered to 18. What should have happened is that the age of the draft should have been raised to 25 and the voting age kept at 21.

 

Or perhaps they realize this idea about money not growing on trees is folklore when they realize the previous administration added $8 trillion in 4 years, more than other president in a 4 year cycle.

And what's the reason people become more conservative? Would love to see these facts.

 

If this is true, and it might very well be, then this is one of the reasons for why the voting age needs to be 25, not 18, since the prefrontal cortex allows for better analysis, instead of taking things at face value. The 2017 deficit was $665 billion. The 2018 deficit, when Democrats took over the House, jumped to $779 billion. In 2019, the deficit was $984 billion. And in 2020--with COVID, with the lockdowns and with paying people more money to not work than to work (by the way, Trump was for opening the economy in May 2020, while Democrats were pushing to keep it closed)--the deficit was $3.1 trillion. Are you saying that we should not have had lockdowns, that we should not have been paying people more money to not work? In 2021, when Biden took over, the deficit was $2.8 trillion. That's after the vaccine was out. So contrast $2.8 trillion in Biden's first year to Trump's $665 billion. Biden more doubled the deficit under Trump's first year. Biden more than doubled the deficit under Trump's second year. Biden more than doubled the deficit under Trump's third year. I think a 25-year-old has the mental faculties to be able to analyze that $8 trillion dollars and better place it in its proper context.

 

Sure! So long as we also make that the age to purchase a gun. Deal?

 

Yes, we should put it into proper context. The FY 2021 was signed under Trump, not Biden. If you take out pandemic spending, what do you get?

 

And in FY 2022, the spending was 6.27 trillion, and that was completely under Biden, with a deficit of 1.38 trillion. That is the second consecutive year where the deficit was north of a trillion, which never happened under Trump. Again, the voting age should be 25, as 18-year-olds may not be able to put these numbers in their proper perspective to see the entire picture.

 

Is $1 trillion the magic number to avoid?

The 2018/2019 Budget deficit were under a republican house majority and constituted trump's first 2 years.

• FY 2019: $984 billion
• FY 2018: $779 billion

Under Obama:

Why did Trump and the republican house increase spending when they said they would balance the budget? I believe some people are missing proper perspective.

• FY 2017: $665 billion. Although Trump requested additional spending, Congress did not approve it.
• FY 2016: $585 billion
• FY 2015: $442 billion
  
  

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No. Leave it at 18, no lower, and no higher, per the 26th amendment.