Should The Voting Age Be Lowered?

After the Marjory Stoneman shooting in Parkland, politicians have been advocating for the voting age to be lowered. Ironically, they're silent about this idiotic leadership in Broward county, but that's a discussion for another time. Leftists are advocating for the voting age to be lowered to the age of 16. Why is it you need to be 21 to be able to drink, purchase alcohol, get your concealed carry license, apply for a license (e.g. airships), but at the age of 18, you're able to vote or join the military? You're "old enough" to vote and sign up for the armed forces at 18, but not old enough to drink or be allowed to carry? This makes zero sense. For me, this is a no brainer. No 16-year-old understands the importance of voting. To be frank, most 18-year-olds don’t understand the importance of voting either.

The first problem is that most 16, 17, or even 18-year-old students don't have the wisdom or maturity to make informed decisions when voting. They have little to no understanding of the world or how it works. They don't understand the effects of big government or taxation has. In Gainesville, where UF is located (my school), the mayor keeps raising taxes, and students are upset. But they keep voting in Democrats, and don’t realize their mistake. Most will vote based on (influenced by) what their parents say, what their guidance counselor (or likewise) say, or what the media says. Everyone can admit they weren't mature enough to make the best decisions when they were 16, so allowing them to vote? "My concern is if 16-year-olds were allowed to vote on any kind of broad scale, what we'd actually be doing is bringing the least politically informed, the least politically experienced, the least mature in terms of making long-term judgments and trade-offs, directly into and potentially affecting our voter turnout and results," says David Davenport, researcher at Hoover Institution. I'm all for having a voice in elections, but this brings me to my next point.

Another reason lowering the voting age is a bad idea is that most teenagers don't care about voting. A small percentage in the 18-29 year group come out and vote. They simply don't care. That's why I always joke how "People my age will complain about issues happening, yet don't go to the one place where they can make a change. The polling booth." Students lack the basic understanding of this country's founding and its core values. There is not enough education for students on civics. Yes, we all took civic exams in high school or even college. So what? Any student will agree with me on this: when you see the word exam, you're only looking to get a good grade. Therefore, you don't focus so much on what is taught, you're focusing on getting that good grade. Professors even know this. One of my professors told our class he hates exams because students won't focus on the usefulness of the material, you'll only focus on the passing grade. I'll be fair. When I was 16, I didn't care about politics either. I only started paying close attention during the 2016 election, which was my senior year of high school. That's what I'm trying to say though. Why bring out the least educated on politics out to vote? Well, it all goes back to what I always say.

Now, do I think it's impossible to get students to understand civics? No! The voting age got lowered to 16 in Austria, and the students there have a working knowledge about civics, and tend to vote like the older generation votes. Gavin Rollins said his students had an extremely high success rate in civics because of how he presented the information. So it's possible that students can learn civics. Gov. DeSantis of Florida made a requirement that students pass civics. That’s good, but we need to ensure they remember the information taught.

My final reason I don't think the voting age should be lowered is because of how the Left will use this newfound power. The Left wants 16-year-old people to vote is because they are easily influenced. The same way they want felons and illegal immigrants to vote. The media already manipulates grown men and women, so imagine the impact they'll have on this age group. We could lower the voting age to 16, but the Left would pounce to indoctrinate every 16-year-old. The GOP also has a serious PR problem. Why don't they go out spreading the truth of the Republican party? I'm not saying indoctrinate. However, we could be a lot more impactful if they did this. Now, I'm not the only one who thinks lowering the voting age is a bad idea. Forget friends and family, I'm talking about different polls. A 2019 Hill-HarrisX poll showed 75% of the subjects of this poll didn't support 17-year-olds being allowed to vote, and a whopping 84% didn't agree with 16-year-olds voting.

Nobody's brain truly matures until mid-20s. I'm a special case because of my situation with my brother, which I've explained before. I don't think this responsibility of voting should be given to 16-year-olds. I personally agree that the voting agree should be raised from 18. I think it should be like most other things we can't do until we're 21. Or lower the drinking age to 18. All jokes aside, the voting age shouldn't be lowered, it should be raised. 16-year-olds don't have the maturity to understand the importance of voting, so I think they'll appreciate these things when they're older.

Do you think the voting age should be raised or lowered? Comment down!!

Please keep the family of George Floyd in your prayers. What happened to him was a major wrong. Plain evil. But also pray for the businesses and individuals affected by those who think burning and looting is somehow justice. Neither is right. Burning and looting is not justice.