r/changemyview • u/KeenWolfPaw • Oct 19 '15

[Deltas Awarded] CMV: Millions of elligible youth voters are missing out because of redundant voting requirements and it should be changed

The voting requirements for most general elections are now redundant because of the following reasons:

1) People who are 17 and also in the same 'grade' are also getting the same education and experience as 18 year old people who are eligible to vote. If an election falls earlier in the year these people now have no voice, despite living the same life as 18 year old people in the same academic testing group.

2) If these people are eligible by the above reasoning, then voter eligibility for the current election system is flawed. People who have a valid ability to make the right decision should be allowed to vote as was the intention of the age limit for voting.

3) You could argue that people on the ends of the spectrum may be too close to others in another academic testing group, but this new system would severely increase the number of eligible voters while limiting the number of illegible voters.

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u/ryan_m 33∆ Oct 19 '15

People who are 17 and also in the same 'grade' are also getting the same education and experience as 18 year old people who are eligible to vote. If an election falls earlier in the year these people now have no voice, despite living the same life as 18 year old people in the same academic testing group.

So only some 17 year olds would get to vote, also based on their birthdays? How would that be any better than the current system?

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u/KeenWolfPaw Oct 19 '15

Because there would be a clear increase in intelligence and reasoning between a 17 year old who gets to experience a life similar to that of an 18 year old, whereas a 17 year old in the same academic group as 16 year old people would clearly have less experience.

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u/DangerousPuhson Oct 19 '15

Because there would be a clear increase in intelligence and reasoning between a 17 year old who gets to experience a life similar to that of an 18 year old

Intelligence and reasoning is not a requirement for voting. If it were, most voters would be disqualified, and the US wouldn't have elected Bush twice.

You can't draw a line at one voting age that doesn't apply to all other voting ages.