Thirteen Year Olds Should Be Allowed To Vote Essay

Until the year of 1971, people were not allowed to vote until the age of twenty-one. People assumed that lowering the age would cause chaos, but regardless of the people’s opinion, on March 23, 1971, the legal age to vote was lowered to eighteen.( Al Jazeera) Lowering the age before did not cause chaos, so why would lowering it again, to a respectful age group, be any worse? Voting laws have changed a lot since the early days. It went from only land owners being able to vote (1776) to letting former slaves be able to vote(1868), Native Americans (1890), Women(1920), people with Chinese ancestry(1952), eighteen year olds(1971), and people who do not speak English (1975).(Al Jazeera) Why do people allow certain parts of a society, with possibly no knowledge on political news to vote, but think that the idea of a younger and educated demographic is so bad? Thirteen year olds should be given the opportunity to vote because voting will allow them to have a say in matters which will affect them for years to come, it will encourage the adolescents to get involved in their community, and help them learn about the impact government has on their life.

It would make sense to give adolescents the option to vote for a president who will be in office during a very important stage in that teenager’s life. If a president were to be elected when an adolescent is at the age of thirteen, assuming that they will be in office for two terms, that means that the president will be leading the country while he or she is learning how to drive/getting a license, becoming a legal adult and becoming able to consume alcohol. It would make more sense to allow the adolescents, who will be becoming legal citizens during that president’s term, to help decide who will be making a great deal of important decisions for the