Voting is indeed a habit. The USA constitution often provides that elections should be held after every four to five years and the involved participants should be those that are 18years and above (Bhatti, Yosef, Kasper, and Hanna, 588). However, many researchers and political analysts often provide that the USA voting age should be lowered to 16years based on the fact that politics and leadership affect both teenagers and adults as well.
The teenagers are the best educated with the current advanced technology that is used in voting. Additionally, teenagers at colleges are affected by politics, and thus, they should be allowed to choose who to lead them at their age as Hart, Daniel, and Robert assert (210). For instance, a 16-year-old teenager is able to join USA’s armed forces, and thus, he or she should have a right to vote and elect the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The voting age should also be reduced to 16years to provide consistency between the age at which a person can vote, get married and have children, pay taxes, and serve in public positions such as the army (Mycock, Andrew, & Jonathan, 140).
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"Should The Voting Age Be Lowered?".
Introducing teenagers to the political environment and involving them in the voting process would increase the voter turnout that reflects presenting their political views and issues affecting the society. Therefore, making voting a habit would maintain a high voter turnout in the American states since the teenagers will get adapted to voting for the rest of their lives. The politicians should pay attention to the teenagers’ right to vote since at their ages, they may be tried in courts and also pay taxes and thus, they need to elect the leaders of their choice to whom they can present the issues affecting their daily (Wagner, Markus, David, & Sylvia, 373). Therefore, teenagers at 16years and above should have the right to vote legally to ensure that they present their views and concerns before their elected leaders.
- Bhatti, Yosef, Kasper M. Hansen, and Hanna Wass. “The relationship between age and turnout: A roller-coaster ride.” Electoral Studies 31.3 (2012): 588-593.
- Hart, Daniel, and Robert Atkins. “American sixteen-and seventeen-year-olds are ready to vote.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 633.1 (2011): 201-222.
- Mycock, Andrew, and Jonathan Tonge. “The party politics of youth citizenship and democratic engagement.” Parliamentary Affairs 65.1 (2011): 138-161.
- Wagner, Markus, David Johann, and Sylvia Kritzinger. “Voting at 16: Turnout and the quality of vote choice.” Electoral studies31.2 (2012): 372-383.
