Why do you have to be 18 to vote?

Anonus

Like, you see these teenagers out there protesting? Why not let them have a louder voice?

Odradek

Because this

Imipolex G

I knew that would be the response.

Tatterhood

Lowering the voting age is one of those things that always gets brought up from time to time but never really goes anywhere. Mostly because, by definition, the people who directly benefit are people who...can't vote...

(And it's not so obviously unjust as most cases where a certain segment of society is prevented from voting.)

Calica

it used to be 21 but then the vietnam war happened and people were like "we're sending these kids to war but not letting them vote?  sheesh"

Anonus

See I'd be for lowering it to, like, 16

★ ~ S U M M E R ✿ S A U S A G E ! ~ ★

what a silly question. What is the single biggest threat to the powers to be but young contrarians with the ability to vote?

Tatterhood

I mean I honestly I was more politically informed when I was sixteen than I am now.

Klinotaxis

eighteenth birthday is when we get the personality replacing brainworms implanted

obviously

check out this loser wants to let humans vote

eriophora zia

I think it is good for people to have (at least mostly) finished high school before voting. I also think it makes sense to allow voting at the same age you become legally responsible for yourself rather than legally your parents' responsibility. You shouldn't get a say in the lives of everyone in your country or state until you have the right to have the final say in your own life. I would support allowing emancipated minors the right to vote, however.

Princess Alice

eriophora zia said:

I think it is good for people to have (at least mostly) finished high school before voting.

I get the idea here, but I think it's very important to remember that not everyone has equal access to a high school education.

Bee

You really should have at least the chance to take a civics/government class first.  But ^ is an important point to make.

eriophora zia

Central Avenue said:

eriophora zia said:

I think it is good for people to have (at least mostly) finished high school before voting.

I get the idea here, but I think it's very important to remember that not everyone has equal access to a high school education.

Yeah, that's why I included the "at least mostly" bit. I don't think high school should be a requirement for voting, but I think it's good that the majority of people complete high school before voting. 

My bigger point was about legal responsibility, which I think should go hand it hand with a voice in government. If we lower the age of individual legal responsibility independent of a guardian, then we should also lower voting age. 

Aliroz

Calica said:

it used to be 21 but then the vietnam war happened and people were like "we're sending these kids to war but not letting them vote?  sheesh"

Huh, I didn't know that.  I always assumed that the voting age and the draft age were legally set to be equal to one another, so a change in one is a change in both.  I'd assumed that the voting age had been changed with the draft age by Roosevelt during the Second World War.

I wonder why it took until Vietnam. Wouldn't the same "sending people to war but not letting them vote" apply to 18-year-olds in WWII and the Korean War?

Klinotaxis

yeah, but people were pretty into WWII, and to a lesser extent the korean war (police action). the vietnam war was unpopular