26th Amendment Debate

Ever since the 26th amendment was passed, eighteen year olds were allowed to vote. This new voting age led to this new age group showing less representation than older groups. It was then thought of in the Montgomery County to try and change this, so they lowered the voting age to sixteen. This new way of thinking was brought up to try and bring up the amount of young voters they see less of in elections. I support this new change because it seems like a good idea to let younger people have the chance to voice their opinions. This new change could lead to having more people interested in politics, it could also bring a bigger younger demographic of voters to vote, and it could bring a better representation of the opinions in the county. This

Since the 26th amendment there was already a small number of young voters voting. This was commented on in the article where Shin states that “They typically go to the polls in much smaller numbers than their elders.” This has been a trend seen in about every election ever since the 26th amendment was made. They hope that this new age limit will bring a better connection to younger teens and get them into a habit of voting for the rest of their lives (Shin). There was a study done to show that after 21 days of doing an activity, it becomes a habit. Making this assumption is true about having them vote for the rest of their lives because they will be able to exercise this right many ways with local elections and being able to share their opinions with this new right. This goes to show that the Montgomery County is hopeful in the new change they are making. In the article Shin goes on to talk about Jessica Carpenter (Takoma City Clerk) and how she “estimates that about 90 16- and 17-year-olds have registered to vote.” Even though it is a small turnout of these new voters, it will bring a better understanding of opinions in the

This is criticized against because opposers say that they “are thus likely to amplify the power of an already well-represented group.” This meaning that families may vote together on the same topics. This is untrue because in my family my dad voted for president Donald Trump and if I had the right to vote I would have voted for Secretary Hillary Clinton. I believed that what Donald Trump was saying was against what I believed and my dad felt the same way as Donald Trump. This goes to show that families or people assumed to have the same opinion don’t always agree on everything. Letting a new age group vote will help show the diversity that is among them. In the article Shin writes about how “some opponents said that young people barely old enough to drive a car don’t have enough perspective to vote.” This argument is valid because it is true that many young voters don’t have the experience to vote. It can still be undone by the fact that only informed individuals are willing to vote at such a young age. This is done through the fact that many young voters were prompted by this new right, to go out and seek the information needed to be well informed