Voting Age

I want to know what YOU think about lowering the national voting age to sixteen. If you don't or do, let me know why! I'd really appreciate if you replied because its for a persuasive essay I'm working on. I'm pro-lowering the voting age, by the way.

Thanks so much!

xoxo
Harlie

No.
I think adults should make the decision, not children.
It's really hard for me to say this because I would have killed to vote in the last election.
But until teens step up to the plate enough [the majority, not just the few] to care about politics, they shouldn't be allowed to vote.

No...
You can not legally enter a contract until you are 18. You also can not die for your country (go into the service) until you're 18. Using that as a guide then no, 16 yr olds should not be allowed to vote.

No.

Most kids these days, don't pay attention to what is going on in politics enough to actually be able to vote, reasonably. Some do, but most, no way. Most kids couldn't care enough and there's not enough who do to balance it out.
And what Michelle said (btw, it's 16 year olds, not 17 year olds.), if you can't go into the service, or enter into contracts until you're 18, then voting should be a no as well.

No, I do not believe that 16 year olds should get the right to vote for various reasons. One, not enough 16 year olds care that much about school. How many of those will care about politics, at least enough to vote? Not that many. The government would be wasting their time by trying to pass a ridiculious law like this. 18 year olds are hardly running out and voting. Secondly, most 16 year olds aren't mentally mature enough to handle such a responsiblity. For all we know some 16 year olds will get registered to vote and the vote for just anyone or anything just because they can. Not because they really want to make their vote count. I could go on but I'm tired.

I would love to get the right to vote but I can't say that for all of my peers. It's the least thing on their minds.

Thanks for your opinions guys!

I don't think it's a good idea. There might be some 16-year-olds who are mature enough to make a real decision based on their own beliefs, but most wouldn't know or care enough to vote properly.
You don't pay taxes at 16 and you don't work full-time, generally, so you shouldn't have a say in how the country is run.
I would love to be able to vote, but there are very few people my age who would take it seriously enough to vote for who they believe would make the best difference and many more who wouldn't even vote, so it would just make a mockery of the government.

Voting, some would say, is like sex. Some are ready at 14, some really should wait until later, and some, quite frankly, will never get it right. Precious few people vote in my country already; I do believe we have one of the lowest turn outs in Europe. Besides that, the number of young people who vote is desperately poor anyway.

Basically, the main point everybody has parroted in this thread is "I'd like to vote but not enough of my peers take it seriously so we shouldn't."
Well, in contrary to that, maybe some of them would actually care if voting wasn't seen as something for stuffy old men on green leather seats. They don't care because it just isn't an option to them. You know, its not as if you suddenly turn 18 and think "Woo! Yeah! Politics!". The change in mentality in those two years is gonna be minimal, in my opinion.

As a person, who, this September will begin to study Government and Politics for the next two years, I can say I have a passing interest in this subject. There will probably be less than 20 people in my class. My point?
Those that aren't going to vote won't suddenly decide to turn up on the electoral register just for the crack if it is made legal. Only those who show an interest vote anyway, and most adults don't vote here. I'd say most adults don't take it seriously or show enough interest. Over 60% of my country don't care enough to vote, and turning away those mature enough to do so on the basis of age is a shot in the foot, really.

HELL NO. i'm just 18 and a lot of the people i know my age aren't mature enough to handle such an important thing, let alone when they were sixteen. :D

Hell fuckin' no. Being 15, almost 16, I'm positive that most of my peers aren't mature enought to make a decision on what to eat let alone who to vote for. A handful of teens actually follow the election where I am, there is no way 16 year olds can be trusted to vote. The thought makes my head hurt.

Bloodraine:

Voting, some would say, is like sex. Some are ready at 14, some really should wait until later, and some, quite frankly, will never get it right. Precious few people vote in my country already; I do believe we have one of the lowest turn outs in Europe. Besides that, the number of young people who vote is desperately poor anyway.

Basically, the main point everybody has parroted in this thread is "I'd like to vote but not enough of my peers take it seriously so we shouldn't."
Well, in contrary to that, maybe some of them would actually care if voting wasn't seen as something for stuffy old men on green leather seats. They don't care because it just isn't an option to them. You know, its not as if you suddenly turn 18 and think "Woo! Yeah! Politics!". The change in mentality in those two years is gonna be minimal, in my opinion.

As a person, who, this September will begin to study Government and Politics for the next two years, I can say I have a passing interest in this subject. There will probably be less than 20 people in my class. My point?
Those that aren't going to vote won't suddenly decide to turn up on the electoral register just for the crack if it is made legal. Only those who show an interest vote anyway, and most adults don't vote here. I'd say most adults don't take it seriously or show enough interest. Over 60% of my country don't care enough to vote, and turning away those mature enough to do so on the basis of age is a shot in the foot, really.

Haha! Nice analogy!

Hell no

Thanks. I had to give a speech on it the other day. I almost died! Hehe, I don't do public speaking!

Frank Is Fun-sized:

Thanks. I had to give a speech on it the other day. I almost died! Hehe, I don't do public speaking!

I had to do a speech on voting once too!
I adore public speaking. xD

Kudos to you! I get all red in the face and feel sick and forget my lines!

:O We're doing this in citizenship at the moment.
To be honest, I don't really care is the voting age is lowered to 16. But I don't really see the point as I don't think many younger people are particually intrested in voting or polatics (even if it does affect most things we do), so it may not make much difference.

Yes. But! To be able to be able to register you have to pass a test that proves you know something about either the election or goverment workings. Becuase I know for a fact if you where to let my friend Sarah vote in 2 years she would vote for who ever she thought was the cutest. But as soon as you turn 18 you should be able to vote like anyone else.

Thanks guys! I made a 100 on my speech!

No.

16 year olds, no offence to them, would probably vote for anyone who offers to put lip gloss dispensers in school bathrooms, and other stuff like that. which isn't a very good way to decide who's going to run your country.. And there's also an issue of maturity.

That would only be the stupid dumbass immature preps, though.