Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Voting Age

In 1971, the United States lowered its voting age from 21 to 18. Recently, there has been a recent uproar of whether it should be lowered again to age 16. The article, “16-Year-Olds Want a Vote. Fifty Years Ago, So Did 18-Year-Olds” by Maggie Astor explored the pros and cons of lowering the voting age to 16 while comparing it to the 70s, when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. The second article, “Lower the voting age? Let’s raise it instead” by Jeff Jacoby strongly explains the reasons against lowering the voting age to 16. Some believe that 16 year olds should be able to vote because they are working and being taxed, so therefore, they should have a say in the political world since it is affecting them directly along with the rest

Claim 1 (Body Paragraph 1)

One reason the voting age should not be lowered to 16 is due to scientific knowledge that brains are not fully developed at this age. There is still a lack of maturity and evolvement, especially in the United States. Sixteen-year-olds are not allowed to buy beer, cigarettes, or marijuana due to the lack of age maturity. So why should it be different for voting? In the article “Lower the voting age? Let's raise it instead” Jeff Jacoby states “Adult and teen brains operate differently. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with rational judgement and awareness long-term consequences, doesn’t fully develop until the mid-20s.” If 16-year-olds were able to vote, science shows that they would not be thinking of the long-term consequences that may come with their vote. For example, no homework may be a short term enticing promise, but with long term negative effects of lower grades. Also, They may just vote for what their friends may be doing rather than using their own rational judgements. Their brains are not fully developed at that time. Although it