I was reading the news and discovered an article about 16 yr. olds who are fighting for their right to vote . I had to think that if you are old enough to work and pay taxes you had the right to vote otherwise it's taxation without representation . Anyone have any thoughts on this .
should 16 year olds be allowed to vote ?
by heathen 10 Replies latest social current
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StinkyPantz
I think they should be able to.
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joannadandy
I don't think it would bother me...most 18 year olds don't even vote, so if a handful of 16 year olds are willing enough to get organized for their right, they are probably mature enough to handle a vote.
I mean we let 'em drive and work, like you say.
I honestly don't think that many would if they got the chance.
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heathen
I doubt they could do any worse than anyone else in picking the lesser of 2 evils on that on . What the heck the government was running around telling voters they didn't know how to use the new ballots to determine the last election . You are probly right joanne the only ones that will bother to anyway are your chess club and political science students .
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jelly
I dont believe the average 16 year old has the maturity to understand politics. I think they would just be a group of uninformed voters and we have enough of those already.
Terry
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Euphemism
It's hard to set an age, since any limit is inherently arbitrary. People mature at different ages. There are plenty of 18-year-olds or 21-year-olds who don't pay any serious attention to politics.
On the one hand, I think that interest in politics is probably a good sign of maturity, and that the more serious-minded teenagers are more likely to be the ones who vote. On the other hand, a 16-year-old is legally a minor, under the guardianship of their parents... they don't have the right to initiate a lawsuit or sign a contract without their parents consent. Giving them an independent vote seems like a logical contradiction.
So I think that since the limit has to be set somewhere, the age of legal independence seems a logical place to put it.
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Panda
Hello, oh really well if that's what he wore I'm not voting for him afterall.
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Euphemism
Really? Were you that shallow when you were 16, Panda? I'm sorry to hear that.
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SadElder
Yes, but perhaps only if they are dubs. Cause we all know it's only dub kids that have the maturity to understand such important matters.
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Stacy Smith
Let's let 12 year olds vote. After all lots of them have newspaper routes