From the 1990s to the present, elected officials in several U.S. states have made unsuccessful attempts to lower the voting age to 16, and sometimes even younger. [1]

Student activism in the wake of the Feb. 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, brought new life to the debate about letting younger people vote in elections. [2]

You are viewing: Why The Voting Age Should Not Be Lowered

Internationally, about a dozen countries allow citizens to vote at age 16, sometimes with conditions such as being employed or married, including Argentina, Austria, Brazil and Ecuador. [48]

A constitutional amendment to lower the U.S. voting age to 16 would require approval from two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures (38 states). Alternatively, state legislatures could pass laws allowing younger people to vote in their states. [3][4]

Until the 1970s, the voting age in America was 21. A debate over lowering it to 18 began during World War II when President Franklin D. Roosevelt decreased the military draft age to 18. President Eisenhower called for citizens ages 18 to 21 to be included in the political process in his 1954 State of the Union address. But lawmakers didn’t take action until marches and demonstrations drew attention to the fact that young people who were being drafted to fight in Vietnam did not have the ability to vote in most states. [43] [44]

Congress proposed the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1971, which stated, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” The ratification process, which required approval from 38 states, was completed in about three months, the shortest amount of time of any amendment in U.S. history. [45] [46]

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While the push to lower voting age for state and federal elections is still an uphill battle, some smaller jurisdictions are lowering the voting age. A handful of cities in California, Maryland, and Vermont allow 16- and 17- year olds to vote in local elections, including school board elections as of Sep. 2023. [52] [53]

Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16?

Discussion Questions

1. Should the voting age be lowered to 16? Why or why not?

2. Would lowering the voting age increase voter turnout? Explain your answer?

3. Would lowering the voting age lead to increase civic knowledge and participation? Why or why not?

Take Action

1. Explore the campaign to lower the voting age with Vote16USA.

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2. Learn more about the 26th Amendment at the Constitution Center.

3. Explore “Preregistration for Young Voters” at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

4. Consider David Davenport’s con argument, including that other laws (governing activities such as driving, drinking, and smoking) have increased ages instead of lowering them based on the immaturity of teenagers.

5. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

6. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives.

Sources

1.National Youth Rights Association, “The Movement to Lower the Voting Age: A History,” youthrights.org (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 2.Joshua Douglas, “Parkland Students Show Why 16-Year-Olds Should Be Able to Vote,” cnn.com, Feb. 20, 2018 3.National Archives, “Constitutional Amendment Process,” archives.gov (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 4.David Davenport, “No, We Shouldn’t Lower the Voting Age to 16,” forbes.com, May 25, 2016 5.Fenit Nirappil, “D.C. Council Declines to Take up Bill to Lower Voting Age to 16,” washingtonpost.com, Nov. 14, 2018 6.Generation Citizen, “Lowering the Voting Age for Local Elections in 2017 and Beyond,” vote16usa.org, Jan. 2017 7.Daniel Hart and Robert Atkins, “American Sixteen- and Seventeen-Year-Olds Are Ready to Vote,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Jan. 2011 8.Laurence Steinberg, “Why We Should Lower the Voting Age to 16,” nytimes.com, Mar. 2, 2018 9.Markus Wagner, et al., “Voting at 16: Turnout and the Quality of Vote Choice,” Electoral Studies, June 2012 10.Mori Social Research Institute, “Young People’s Attitudes Towards Politics,” ipsos.com, July 2003 11.Tak Wing Chan and Matthew Clayton, “Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to Sixteen? Normative and Empirical Considerations,” Political Studies, Oct. 2006 12.Robert Tracinski, “Why It’s Time to Raise the Voting Age Back to 21,” thefederalist.com, Feb. 27, 2018 13.US Department of Labor, “Workers under 18,” dol.gov (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 14.US Legal, “Contract by a Minor,” contracts.uslegal.com (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 15.United States Courts, “Juror Qualifications,” uscourts.gov (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 16.Today’s Military, “Review Military Entrance Requirements,” todaysmilitary.com (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 17.Damian Medina, “Why California Should Definitely Not Lower Voting Age to 17,” sandiegouniontribune.com, June 23, 2017 18.Drew Desilver, “U.S. Trails Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout,” pewresearch.org, May 21, 2018 19.Kevin Denny and Orla Doyle, “Does Voting History Matter? Analysing Persistence in Turnout,” jstor.org, Jan. 2009 20.Daniel Hart and James Youniss, Renewing Democracy in Young America, 2017 21.Mark N. Franklin, Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945, Apr. 2004 22.Eric Plutzer, “Becoming a Habitual Voter: Inertia, Resources, and Growth in Young Adulthood,” American Political Science Review, Mar. 2002 23.Eva Zeglovits and Julian Aichholzer, “Are People More Inclined to Vote at 16 Than at 18? Evidence for the First-Time Voting Boost among 16- to 25-Year-Olds in Austria,” Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties, Oct. 2014 24.Amy Linimon and Mark Joslyn, “Trickle Up Political Socialization: The Impact of Kids Voting USA on Voter Turnout in Kansas,” State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Mar. 2002 25.Jens Olav Dahlgaard, “The Surprising Consequence of Lowering the Voting Age,” washingtonpost.com, Mar. 1, 2018 26.National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, “Solid Turnout for 16 and 17 Year Old Voters in Takoma Park, MD,” naspa.org (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 27.United States Census Bureau, “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2014: Reported Voting and Registration, by Sex and Single Years of Age: November 2014,” census.gov, July 2015 28.Emily Guskin, “Are Young Voters Going to Sway the Midterms? New Data Shows That’s Not Very Likely.,” washingtonpost.com, Aug. 1, 2018 29.United States Elections Project, “Voter Turnout Demographics,” electproject.org (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 30.Civic Youth, “National Voter Turnout Figures – Civic Youth,” civicyouth.org (accessed Oct. 26, 2018) 31.National Assessment of Educational Progress, “2014 Civics Assessment,” nationsreportcard.gov (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 32.Devyn Rafols-Nuñez, “Push to Lower the Voting Age Gains Traction across the States,” nbcnews.com, June 24, 2018 33.Justia, Jolicoeur v. Mihaly, law.justia.com, 1971 34.Washington Post Editorial Board, “Give a Lower Voting Age a Try,” washingtonpost.com, Apr. 13, 2018 35.Rainesford Stauffer, “These Teens Marched for Gun Laws. They Were Just Getting Warmed Up.,” thinkprogress.org, May 29, 2018 36.Eric Zorn, “It’s Only Logical — 16-Year-Olds Should Have the Right to Vote,” chicagotribune.com, Apr. 26, 2018 37.Hannah Grabenstein, “Should 16-Year-Olds Be Allowed to Vote?,” pbs.org, Apr. 20, 2018 38.FindLaw, “Emancipation of Minors Basics,” family.findlaw.com (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 39.Public Religion Research Institute, “American Democracy in Crisis: Civic Engagement, Young Adult Activism, and the 2018 Midterm Elections,” prri.org, Oct. 11, 2018 40.Lehigh Valley Opinion, “Poll: Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Raised to 21?,” lehighvalleylive.com, Feb. 27, 2018 41.WJLA Staff, “A New Bill Is Being Proposed in D.C. That Would Lower Voting Age to 16,” wjla.com, Apr. 10, 2018 42.WJLA Web Staff, “Bill Lowering Voting Age to 16 Proposed in D.C.,” mynbc15.com, Apr. 18, 2018 43.Jocelyn Benson and Michael T. Morley, “Common Interpretation: The Twenty-Sixth Amendment,” constitutioncenter.org (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 44.History.com Editors, “The 26th Amendment,” history.com (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 45.National Archives, “Document for March 23rd: 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” archives.gov (accessed Nov. 1, 2018) 46.NCC Staff, “Just Which State Ratified the 26th Amendment?,” constitutioncenter.org, June 30, 2017 47.The Hill, ” Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Reject Lowering Voting Age to 16,” thehill.com, May 3, 2019 48. Maggie Astor, “16-Year-Olds Want a Vote. Fifty Years Ago, So Did 18-Year-Olds.,” nytimes.com, May 19, 2019 49. James A. Anderson, “Why We Should Lower the Voting Age to 16,” nextcity.org, July 20, 2020 50. Lauren Young, “These Teens Are Leading the Fight to Lower the Voting Age,” teenvougue.com, Aug. 13, 2020 51.Celine Castronuovo, “San Francisco Considers Changing Local Voting Age to 16,” thehill.com Sep. 12, 2020 52.Lisa Rathke, “Brattleboro, VT. Lowers Local Voting Age to 16 After Legislature Overrode Veto,” wbur.org, June 28, 2023 53.Brett Peveto, “Some Maryland Communities Lowering Voting Age to 16,” publicnewsservice.org, Sep. 19, 2023

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