TalkingPointsonLoweringtheVotingAge
Whyshouldwelowerthevotingage?Mainpoints:
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Loweringthevotingagecanleadtoalong-termincreaseinvoterturnout,
becausevotingishabitualand16isamuchbettertimethan18toestablishthe
habitofvoting.At18,peopleareinastateoftransitionthatmakesitlesslikely
theywillvote.At16,peoplecanestablishthehabitofvotinginastable
environment.Thisiscrucial,becausewhetherapersonvotesinthefirstelection
theyareeligibleforstronglyinfluenceswhethertheywillcontinuetovotein
futureelections.
Votingisthemostreliablewayforordinarycitizenstoinfluencethegovernment.
Loweringthevotingagewouldforcelocalpoliticianstolistentosixteen-and17year-oldsandaddresstheirconcerns.
Sixteen-and17-year-oldsworkandpaytaxesontheirincome,candriveinmost
states,andcaninsomecasesbetriedasadultsincourt.Inaddition,local
politicaldecisionshavegreatinfluenceonthelivesof16-and17-year-olds.They
deservetherighttovoteonissuesthataffectthemlevel.
Sixteen-and17-year-oldsarereadytovote.Researchshowstheyhaverequisite
civicknowledgeandskills,andhavethementalreasoningabilitynecessaryto
makeinformedchoices.
Loweringthevotingagecanencouragebettercivicseducation.Thisisimportant
becauseonlyone-thirdofAmericanscannameallthreebranchesof
government,andschoolsarefailingtoprioritizeeffectivecivicseducationas
theyfocusonmeetingaccountabilitymeasuresinothersubjects.Letting16-and
17-year-oldsvotewillmakecivicsclassesmorerelevanttotheirlivesandcan
leadschoolstofocusmoreattentiononeffectivecivicseducation.
Weneedboldideastoreinvigorateparticipationindemocracy,andloweringthe
votingageisoneofthesepotentialsolutions.Turnoutforthe2014mid-term
electionswasata72-yearlowandtheUnitedStatesranksbelowmostother
advanceddemocraciesinvoterturnout.
We’reworkingtolowerthevotingageonthelocallevelonly,fortheelections
thataremostdirectlyrelevanttoyoungpeople’slives.
Someofthisdocument’scontentisadaptedfromFairVote’s“AdvicetoSpeakers:16year-oldVoting.”
Addressingcounterarguments:
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Sixteen-year-oldsarenotmatureenoughtovote
o Thisgutreactionismisguided.Votingdependson“coldcognition,”a
thoughtoutdecision-makingprocessinwhich16-year-oldsperformjust
aswellasadults.
o Sixteen-year-oldscanarematureenoughtodrive,work,andpaytaxes.
They’realsomatureenoughtovote.
Sixteen-and17-year-oldswilljustcopytheirparents’votes
o Datafromthe2014Scottishindependencereferendumsuggeststhis
claimisuntrue.Over40percentof16-and17-year-oldsvoteddifferently
fromtheirparents.
LoweringthevotingageisjustaploytogetmorevotesforDemocrats
o Theefforttolowerthevotingagetranscendspartylines.Themaingoal
oftheeffortistoinvigorateourdemocracybyfosteringactiveand
engagedcitizens.Greaterparticipationindemocracyandamorelively
politicaldiscoursebenefiteveryone.
o TheperceptionthatyoungvotersfavorDemocratsisoftenoverstated—
ina2014Pewsurvey,50percentofmillennialsself-identifiedaspolitical
independents
o Longitudinalpollingdataonpoliticalideologyshowsthatmillennialsare
trendingconservatively.
Sixteen-and17-year-oldsarenotlegaladults
o Sixteen-and17-year-oldsplayavitalroleinsociety.Theydrive,they
work,andtheypaytaxes.Thelegaldefinitionlinkingadulthoodtothe
ageof18shouldnotaffectvotereligibility.
o Manystatesalreadyallow17-year-oldstovoteinprimaryelections.
o Legalagelimitsshouldbesetinaccordancetowhatisbestforeach
individualissue.Ourcountryhassetthedrivingage,inmoststates,at16,
andthedrinkingageat21.Forthisspecificissue,thevotingageshould
be16.
Slipperyslope:Whystopat16?Whynotextendvotingrightsto15-year-oldsor
12-year-oldsorevenyounger?
o Sixteenhasaparticularsignificanceinourculture,asitistheage
whenyoungpeoplecanobtainadriver’slicense,workunlimited
hours,etc.
o Someresearchshowsthatonacognitivelevel,16-year-oldsare
virtuallyindistinguishablefrom18-year-oldsandslightlyoldervoters,
but15-year-oldsarenot.
o At16,moststudentshavetakenoraretakinghighschoolcivics
classes,anditmakessensetoletthemvoteatthesametime.
o Loweringthevotingageto16ensuresthateveryoneexperiencesone
electionwhilestillinschool(assumingtwoyearelectioncycles).
Someofthisdocument’scontentisadaptedfromFairVote’s“AdvicetoSpeakers:16year-oldVoting.”
Wherehasitbeendone?
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TwocitiesinMaryland–TakomaParkandHyatsville–loweredthevotingagefor
theirlocalelectionsin2013and2015,respectively.Intheelectionssince,16-
and17-year-oldshaveturnedoutathigherratesthanoldervoters.
Manycountriesaroundtheworldhavevotingageslowerthan18,including
Austria,Brazil,andScotland.SeeVote16USA.orgforafulllist.
Thingstoavoid:
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Arguingbyanalogy
o Ifsomeonesuggeststhat16-and17-year-oldsdonothavethemental
capacitytovote,don’trespondwith,“Wedon’tdisenfranchisethe
elderlyoradultswithdecliningcapacities.”Thisconcedesthat16-and
17-year-oldsmaynotbereadytovote,anddistractsfromthemain
pointsaboutgivingrightsto16-and17-year-olds.It’sbettertorespond
directly,notwithananalogy.
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Distractingterminology
o Avoidwordsthatsetupadistinctionbetweenyouthandadults,like
“youth,”“adult,”“teenagers,”or“kids.”Instead,sticktotheactualages
andtalkabout16-and17-year-oldsdirectly.
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Comparingthistoothermovementstoexpandsuffrage
o Don’tcompareloweringthevotingagetosuffrageexpansionslikethe
civilrightsmovementandthewomen’ssuffragemovement.Sixteen-and
17-year-oldsaredifferentinthattheywilleventuallybeenfranchisedat
theageof18.Moreimportantly,thesecomparisonscanbeoffensiveto
somepeople.
Someofthisdocument’scontentisadaptedfromFairVote’s“AdvicetoSpeakers:16year-oldVoting.”