Should the voting age be moved to 16? Are 16-year-olds old enough to vote? In this episode, we ask and attempt to answer these questions about voting age.
Find more of us at http://theyoungperspective.net
Instagram: the_young_perspective
Email: ejtheyoungperpspective@gmail.com
Should the voting age be moved to 16? Are 16-year-olds old enough to vote? In this episode, we ask and attempt to answer these questions about voting age.
Find more of us at http://theyoungperspective.net
Instagram: the_young_perspective
Email: ejtheyoungperpspective@gmail.com
spk_0: 0:00
Hi, everybody. I'm Josh
spk_1: 0:02
and I meet them, and this is the young perspective. So
spk_0: 0:21
today we're gonna be talking about the voting age and why, in some places in our country, people are pushing it for the voting age to be changed from 18 to 16
spk_1: 0:31
and, uh, start off. We want to talk about the history of voting in the U. S. So from the 19 forties to the 19 sixties, there was a big push by like, but pretty much all the presidents during that time period to move the voting age from 21 at that time at that time to 18. And they wanted to do this because if 18 year olds could be drafted into the Army, then they should also be allowed to vote. Because, uh, well, if you go into the Army, you're seen as an adult, and you, ah, you should be able to vote about the laws and the representatives who were going Teoh, who are going to make decisions about huge in the army. And so it just felt that right that 18 year olds are adults, they should be allowed to vote, and so that it was passed in 18 year olds were allowed to vote. But now we're gonna flash forward to now. Nowadays, about about 50 years later, 60 years later and this big push Teoh move the bony age even farther down to 16.
spk_0: 1:25
And I think the biggest argument now of why shouldn't be moved to 16 is that they're not. The 16 year olds aren't mature enough. People say that 16 year olds don't have the mental capacity to make a good decision about who they're gonna vote for. They don't really have strong opinions that have developed. I think that's totally incorrect. 16 year old's First of all, are in schools, high schools, which are breeding grounds for political discussions, breeding grounds for disagreement about politics. So you have these kids were in schools thinking about politics, thinking about the candidates for president, thinking about their local elections. But why shouldn't they be be allowed to vote? I'm 14 and I truly believe I love the magic capacity and I could make an educated decision on who I should vote for in almost any U. S election. So I think to in two years down the road at 16 I should be allowed to vote.
spk_1: 2:19
Well, uh, well, you might feel that, like that. 16 year olds are mature enough. Um, there's a lot of data to show that, you know, maybe their minds were really a team the teenage years from, like, 13. Really? To your twenties, you're still fully It's like one of the biggest bits of roast sense Besides, when you're a baby and so you basically reminds developing and you're growing and you're getting all these new ideas about about politics and you're learning all this stuff in school. But maybe the reason why you're learning it about it in school is to prepare you to vote afterwards. Maybe you're not ready yet. You haven't finished high school yet. You haven't finished all this education toe. Let your Oh, yeah. Maybe you need to go through all this and then you can vote because maybe because you're not really mature, you haven't gone through all this. And another reason why, um, why you tribune be Ah, we should keep the voting age is 18. Is that experience? The majority of Americans aren't really gonna start thinking about politics and really unseen until maybe 14. 15. And so, if you make the voting age 60 in, they're not gonna have really started thinking about all this stuff. It's for only for like, a year or so. So if you get 18 if it stays at 18 they have time to think about this, see what's going on. The world will read the news, um, and figure and see who they like, who they don't like in politics, what they're passionate about. And that's why if it stays at 18 they can maybe making it more informed decisions.
spk_0: 3:39
That's ridiculous. These kids, if they're presented with information and they can take 10 minutes and they look at the pros and the cons and they can make a decision, right. Your your opinions do develop over time, but you can make an educated, educated decision very, very quickly based on all the fax. But I think really one of another big reason that the voting age should be changed and and moved back to 16 or down to 16 is because that is, the 16 year olds are really effective. At 16 you could start driving. You can start working at a job, and if you're starting driving, if you're working at a job you should be able tow vote for the people who decide the minimum wage. Who the vote for the people who decide if the police officers are gonna are gonna chase after you in their cars At what speed limit. You should be able to choose what happens to you in your life in your job. And if you have the mental capacity to do that and I believe six year olds do, you should be able to You should be allowed to
spk_1: 4:35
the whole idea of that. Like, um, if we let 16 year olds can drive, then we should let them vote. That's kind of messed up because you can apply that to say idea that if we can let 16 year olds drive, then we can let them, ah, holding carry a gun and we can let them go into the Army and lower the draft age. But I don't agree with those statements. Ah, yeah, car is just as dangerous as as a gun, and we let a zip gun could be. We let them driving cars that really has Ah, you're just because they can drive. I don't think that really should be the same things. That should be why they can vote. Yes, 16 year olds are allowed to vote, and they can move outs and move on and be their own move out of their house, and their parents can emancipate them. Ah, and so that's a good reason why 16 year old should be a lot of vote, because if they're living by themselves and if there and if they're letting the if they're living by themselves and their living, all these laws and living by under this society, that's putting these laws none. Yes, they should be a lot of low. That's probably one of the biggest reasons.
spk_0: 5:41
Of course. They should be allowed to vote if they were emancipated. 16 year olds are pretty damn independent. You look at them. All they want do is leave their parents household. They want to not be told what to do. They want to make. They want to make grown up decisions. You see, as kids get older, they haven't urged to leave their parents umbrella, and that's what 16 year old or do they are gonna do. So a big worry is that they'll vote what their parents think That's actually probably not true. He's a lot of 16 year olds don't want to do it. Their parents work doing. They want to do what their parents aren't doing. So they're gonna vote for somebody who they believe is the right person, and they're and they're not gonna do exactly what their parents are doing. And some of that's out of spite for for their parents beliefs. But you know, you have to look at 16 year old Ethan. Do you think as a 16 year old, you will be prepared to vote?
spk_1: 6:32
I do think I'll be prepared to vote, but you have to look at 16 year olds in general. Um, just because some kids are ready to vote at 16. That's some people you have to look at, the more general you can't make a decision based off of on minority of kids used to make it off the majority of kids. And so if ah, this universal age of 18 is what we assume that's we have established as, ah country and really across the world. Most places that's an adult and they can be able to make an informed decision to vote, and they're mature enough to vote. Then we should stick by the majority of people just because some 16 years ready the hostile way. Two years. Oh, well. Oh, well, another reason, Josh, is that, um when your kids go to school at school, they have teachers who are pushing ideas down their throats. On my school, a lot of teachers were supposed to not supposed to be biased and not talk about their politics and class and their political opinions. A lot of them do. And so you're rub off on you, and so maybe you don't want toe. Listen, about your parents have to do. But you kind of look up to your teachers in a sentence
spk_0: 7:34
that that's kind of a weird way to think of it, even because you're saying even if 16 year olds are affected by the laws, even if the laws will affect how much money they make, what happens to them on the roads, how safe they are, even if it affects them and fully affects them. They have no right to vote for how the future of their their lives will be. They have no right right to vote for a candidate that will change their their their job? Or can it that will change their roads? They have no right to do that. Oh, well known student activist and a student at the school where a shooting occurred a couple of years ago in Parkland, Florida, Sophie Whitney said something really interesting. And she said, If sticks 16 year old students are old enough to be affected by laws and realize that there is a problem, then they should have the power to help it change. So we have a big movement in our country where activists, usually young kids in high school and in college are pushing for change. And these activists are making educated decisions, and these activists have every right to change their future. Right? 60 year old should be allowed to vote because it's not. The vote isn't gonna affect them right now, but it's gonna affect them in their future. 16 year olds should have the right to change their future for the better, and for how they see their future to be
spk_1: 8:55
one of the things that ah, I think is kind of good about letting 16 year olds vote is The idea is that, um they will if they're voting in 16 then there with their parents, most of them. They're at school where their teachers are going to say Go vote. Their parents aren't say go vote. And so they're going to go. Probably vote versus if they start. If they start voting later on in life, they're probably not going to buy themselves. They're not gonna want to vote. And if the if they start voting early, they could develop this lifelong ah skill of, ah, voting. And so if they that's a really important thing we want as a country toe, have a big voter or term out. And so maybe having kids start rooting younger can cause a big voter turnout. And if that's if that's true, then that's pretty good. So maybe a way to and how kind of have that is to have kids vote in local elections, maybe 16 year olds to vote in local elections in 18. They can vote in federal elections. That way they still get the chance to vote. They still feel that their voices heard, and they get a sense of that of what voting is and the kind of start running out released so they can later on in life where it's more important. It's about federal. They already started voting and their to continue to vote.
spk_0: 10:04
You know, that's a that's a good point. It's already happening in some places. So Berkeley, California um 16 year old or a lots of vote in local elections in a bunch of cities in Maryland 16 year old are allowed to vote in local elections. It's possible. But when he is toe happen, is the 16 year olds and and the and the young young Americans around the country to come together and push for the rights of a 16 year old to be fully established in one of those rights is the right to vote. Any one of big fears is that it's not possible and it is possible. Ah, constitutional limit amendment wouldn't be that hard. It could be done on the federal level, but it could also be done on the state level. So that's why it is important for us to push our state legislatures to start thinking about it. As as young students, we have to get it into the minds of our politicians. So in the future they can think about and hopefully vote for it. And and I think as we educate more politicians as we educate MAWR students around the country, more kids are gonna get up and start fighting for a piece. Kids want their voice to be heard. I want my voice to be heard, and if it's not hurt, I feel like I'm being stand. I feel like that's wrong and immoral.
spk_1: 11:15
It's not right. Teoh impose us under the same laws than adult what that an adult American gets. The ah has because in a dull American gets the vote on these laws. They get to vote on representatives who are going to make these laws, and so they're going to the laws that they have to obey. They have some some input into, but kids, 16 year olds and through, ah, 18 year olds. They are allowed to vote, and they can't have. They have no effect on any of these laws. Besides just pushing their representatives and maybe telling adults Haibo for this big you'll Actually, it's a vote, So why should they have to go and have to have to go through the same laws that adults go through when they have. It's like taxation without representation, not taxation. But I'm going to your laws without representation.
spk_0: 12:02
And, you know, going through laws without representation doesn't only apply Teoh regular laws like driving or working conditions. It also applies to the court 16 year olds condo. 16 year olds can go to an adult court like like 18 year old, like 21 year old, go to a regular adult court, and in that court they could be sentenced to the death penalty. If 16 year olds are old enough to be sentenced to the death penalty in adult court, they should be old enough to vote.
spk_1: 12:30
Um, this. It will not come easily as no big change in America's laws, which comes it takes. It's gonna take a national amendment will take. 2/3 of both houses of Congress on the state level will take 34 So the state legislators. So that's that's kind of hard. Todo It's obviously possible, but it takes a lot of kids to come out, voiced their support, and they have to show that they care about this, that they want to be heard. Their voices want to be heard,
spk_0: 12:59
and in the best representation of kids doing us. His activism is activist Circles for climate change for against abortion are for and against abortion. You see all these young students coming out and fighting for activism, block laws, nine black lives matter. And this is an example, just the activism itself, of students being ableto being Babel and ready to vote. Their activism shows that they're intelligent enough to make an educated decision and fight for it in one part of fighting for it should being able to vote for it in elections.
spk_1: 13:32
You know, one of the things that I thought was kind of funny about this with all the climate change movement. Ah, lot of politicians and adults say it's on you guys to fix our climate. We've already our generation messed up, is on the younger generation and do it well. How can they do it if they're not allowed to vote? If they're willing to get up there and give big speeches and make a whole movement about something about saving their their earth, why shouldn't they all be allowed to vote on that?
spk_0: 14:00
That's that's a good question. Um, and I think we really discussed it so we're gonna encourage every single student out there to think about it. Do you feel ready to vote? Do you feel like your voice should be heard at the age of 16? And maybe if your adult do you think it's 16 you're ready to vote? And if you believe so, there's a great website. It is. The website is vote 16 USDA dot work, and you can learn about some of the missions of this of this organization trying to change the voting age. It's not. It's actually not trying to change it. Federally besets very hard is trying to change it on the state and local level. It is achievable as we can see by California in many cities in Maryland. Um, when with that we want toe encourage everybody stay home, stay safe during this covert crisis.
spk_1: 14:50
And we also want to thank all of you today. Actually, we just hit 1000 podcast listens. We couldn't have done it with you guys. Obviously, as you guys are the guys people listening. Thank you, Stone. Watch for listening to all of our episodes always being there for us. Um, it's been a crazy three year and 1/2 months of launching this podcast. And here's to another.
spk_0: 15:15
A few years, another 1000 listings. 10,000 listens. And with that, we want to thank everybody for listening. And remember, this was the young perspective.