Why the Voting Age Should Not Be Lowered

Student Essay by Esther Hutchins

        The article, “The Case for Lowering the Voting Age,” by Kathryn Zaia, is a persuasive article voicing a teenager’s concerns on the current legal age set for voting. She states that the age should be lowered to sixteen, and gives her reasons. She believes that since sixteen year olds have other responsibilities, the prominent one being driving, they should be allowed to participate in elections. These elections will shape the teen’s futures: their jobs, their schooling, their rights. She adds that she used to believe that teens were incapable of placing votes, but after attending the “March for our Lives,” her opinion was changed to believe that if teens were ready to face a subject as important as gun violence, they were surely ready to vote.

        I do not believe that the voting age should be lowered. My reasons for this are due to the fact that teens are in a naturally insecure stage of life. I acknowledge that you cannot measure everyone with the same ruler. Although thousands of teens have the mental faculties and political knowledge to be able to place an educated vote, hundreds are as politically uninformed as children. Some teenagers have grown up in families well-versed in politics, or have become interested or informed on their own. Others either have not taken the time or had the opportunity to be aware of their country’s political happenings. For these reasons, you cannot put all teens into a category of full maturity just because one school had a group of highschoolers who were outspoken about gun rights.

        Another reason teenagers should be restricted from voting is that they are very easily swayed. One reason for this is that teens are young and have not had much time to become firm in their beliefs, standards, and opinions. Secondly, the power of social media in this particular age group is very strong. Many teenagers are in a state of insecurity, and they will grasp at any opportunity they believe will help them fit in or be ‘one of the cool ones.’ If their favorite influencer, artist, or actor is vocal about their beliefs, they will be more likely than adults to base their votes on these celebrities' opinions. Opinionated friend groups can also have a powerful pull on what or whom teens will vote for. No one wants to be the odd one out, challenging or going against what their peers are pushing them to do.

        Voting is also a massive responsibility. The choice you make on whom to vote for ultimately determines who dies and who lives, even just in the case of abortion. In a sense, if we give teens the right to vote, they are now judges!  Even some adults will opt out of voting simply because the stress of choosing the better of two unideal candidates is just too much.  True, some teens will likely appreciate being able to make decisions that will affect their futures, but it is possible that they would feel overwhelmed for the same reason, and be just as grateful to have their parents vote on what they think is best. Teenagers have a much stronger influence on their parents than they might expect, and if they have certain desires on how an election turns out that do not match those of their parents, they can simply inform them of their concerns, and likely be able to come to an agreement. Isn’t that better than the possible alternative of a politically divided household? 

        Certainly, there are many compelling reasons toward both sides of the matter, but I believe that the points against lowering the voting age have more gravity.  Teens could certainly vote; but thousands more careless voters aren’t really what our country needs. We need more voters who have the experience and wisdom to make good decisions and aren’t easily swayed. Most teens aren’t ready for that level of responsibility, and asking them to vote is neither fair nor reasonable.