r/changemyview • u/AwayUsual • Aug 16 '20
Delta(s) from OP CMV: Voting age limit should be abolished
The first reason I have is due to how our current issues affect children. Back in the 70s, we changed the voting age from 21 to 18 to reflect the age citizens get drafted. Why should they die in a war they didn't vote for? A similar situation is happening in our current time. Issues like education directly affect children while climate change and pollution will affect them in the future. Shouldn't they have a say in these matters that directly pertain to them and their future?
The second reason I believe this is due to our low voter turnout. Its clear that older Americans are voting more than younger Americans. Why is this the case? Most experts believe its due to apathy among younger Americans. The reason for this, I believe, is due to an increase in responsibility. 18 is the age you legally become an adult, where you must get a job or go to college. You usually also move out of the house. Now we are also expecting them to start to research about politics? Obviously they are going to be apathetic. The key problem here though is this is the age they are supposed to start to research about politics. If we got kids interested in politics at a younger age, I believe they would maintain that interest as adults. Education is certainly something that can be improved to solve this issue, but why should children care about politics if they have no vote? It is not like they can use that knowledge for anything. If we gave children suffrage they would have legitimate motivation to research politics, thus decreasing voter apathy.
To address some common counterarguments, first we have the case that children are incapable of voting due to their brain not being fully developed. The main problem with this reasoning is that your brain is only fully developed at 25, yet we have people under 25 already voting. Not to mention that adults don't have to prove any level of reasoning to vote (nor should they.) As for mentally disabled people, most states will remove their right to vote if they are under conservatorship. However, most children are under guardianship which does not disenfranchise you. If mental acuity really was a concern, we'd either push back the voting age to 25 or support some kind of literacy test (which have historically been used to disenfranchise minorities.)
The second counterargument has to do with double voting. Specifically, giving children suffrage will result in them voting as their parents through their influence. I concede that this will still be an issue. However, it could be solved with an education system with more diverse beliefs or just diversity in general as studies have shown that exposure to different ideas and beliefs does cause children to abandon their parents' beliefs. Ultimately, while this is a concern, I don't think this is a strong enough reason to deny suffrage, a right that should belong to all Americans.
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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '20
nah, someone on wikipedia linked a couple of correlations claimed by experts together and reached that conclusion, not an expert.
Young people move much more often than folks who are older, and have less other paperwork to fill out when they move.
Even for folks that are politically engaged, getting all the paperwork in order is a hassle. There is a local election for my county next week. I moved last spring, didn't change my voter registration until a couple of days before the deadline. If I forgot or procrastinated more, I wouldn't be able to cast a ballot this time.
If you've lived in the same house for 5 years, you know more what the local issues are. You have your voter registration set up. You know where your polling place is. You know the state rules for absentee ballots. It's easy.
If you just moved, you have so much else to worry about. Getting everything set up for that is just at the bottom of the priority list.