By Sophia Doan
(vox.com)
As politics becomes an increasingly controversial topic amongst all ages, GenZ has started to take an interest in politics. Many debates regarding the changing of the voting age in the United States have circulated in recent years, with states like Alabama and Delaware allowing 17 year olds to vote in state primaries. In 2020, Californian citizens voted on proposition 18, attempting to lower the voting age to 16, however, it did not pass. The voting age should be lowered to 16 in order to cause a higher sense of lifelong political efficacy in teenagers, provide further representation for a large portion of the American population, and raise the possibility of political participation and voter turnout. 16 and 17 year olds around the country have demonstrated large scale political activism and interest in topics. According to a Britannica article examining a devastating school shooting in Florida, thousands of students protested, showing mass political engagement and activism. Urging voters to vote for more gun control and protections, a common theme among the protests and signage was “if only we could vote” or “give us a voice because we have no voice”. Many opponents of lowering the legal voting age argue that teenagers do not hold an interest in political matters, however, the protests in Florida directly illustrate the political involvement of the younger generation. Furthermore, 16 and 17 year olds make up 2.66% of the United States population, so allowing this age range to vote will give more of a voice to the younger generation (census.gov). Many issues solely impact a teenage age range, and giving a political voice will allow more issues that impact millions of teenagers to be higher on a political agenda. For example, student loans, college regulation, and acceptances affect teenagers beginning around age 16. Issues such as student loans impact millions of teenagers following them to adulthood. Due to the older age demographic of most politicians, student loans and other issues impacting younger generations are not very highlighted on political agendas. Allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote will give more representation to a generation who has issues unaddressed. Additionally, to look at other examples, many European countries lowered their voting age to 16 with high success. In Austria, the voting age was lowered to 16 in 2007 and “research found that 16-18 year olds were just as politically knowledgeable as 18-21 year olds” (unicef.org). Austria’s research proves how the knowledge and thinking abilities of the younger generations do not stand as a valid argument for why they should not vote. UNICEF performed their own research, concluding that “a considerable number of experts also assert that a 16 year old has sufficient cognitive and critical thinking capacities to make political decisions independently.” Furthermore, concerns of a possible rights violation have been raised regarding not allowing teenagers to vote. The CRC—Convention of the Rights of the Child—recongnizes the right of a child to “express his or her views freely in all matters affecting the child” (unicef.org). Although they do not specify voting rights for children, when a teenager expresses interest in voting and participating politically, they should be granted that right. “According to the International IDEA Voter Turnout Website, political participation among young people aged 18-29 is systematically lower than the average one. Some experts argue that a way to improve these figures would be to lower the minimum voting age, which would also have other positive consequences” ACE project sums up (aceproject.org). Overall, 16 and 17 year olds have expressed clear political interest, experience repercussions from those in office, and have shown the knowledge required to make an educated decision.