At the Democratic presidential debate at Dartmouth College last night, Dennis Kucinich made a bold proposal: To lower the voting age to 16.
I know that Dennis Kucinich’s intentions are good, but I’m not sure that the idea is wise. There’s a big difference in terms of maturation between a 16 year-old and an 18 year-old. Sixteen year-olds are still minors who live under the authority of their parents. Some sixteen year-olds are advanced enough to come up with informed political opinions, but many aren’t, and just copy what they hear around them or rebel reflexively against what they hear around them.
If 16 year-olds were to vote, I would want to see a massive nationwide investment in extra social studies education from elementary school through high school. The average 16 year-old needs to know a lot more history, government, geography, and current events to be sufficiently informed to vote. I won’t support any effort to lower the voting age that does not include significant funding for programs to educate children and teenagers to lift them up into a more aware and active citizenry than what we’re seeing now.
For the most part public schools have long ago dropped civics lessons, with the generational consequence of pervasive political apathy. Like geography, grammar, and other courses, their lack has created a large population of non-politically participating citizens who don’t even know how their LOCAL governments work, let alone the federal system. i’m not sure why these courses were omitted, but the effect is now clear.
Agreed – but parents also have responsibility. I take my kids to Village Board meetings, and to protests, so that they get an idea of what active participation as a citizen looks like. They’ve also seen the political house parties we’ve hosted in our home.
Agreed, although your statement that there’s a big difference in maturity between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old raises my eyebrows a little bit. Obviously the older the pool gets, the greater the proportion of mature adults to children trapped in arrested development. But perhaps having experienced both of those age groups not too long ago I fail to see how the majority of either one is truly informed or astute enough to make independent decisions (I thought High School was bad until I got to Junior College…). Just speaking from personal, albeit cynical, observation. I didn’t really see too many genuine opinions until around 3rd year of real college. But the cut-off’s gotta come somewhere, and I recognize that we can’t exclude anyone for not having gotten an education or not having made socially responsible choices.
On the other hand, if sixteen-year-olds COULD vote, think about how much more effective it would be for candidates to guest on SNL! Hell, they might even wind up on Andy Milonakis!
i think the voting age (and drinking age, as well) should be the age of majority, whatever that is. one problem with a 16-year old voter is that even if they are voting against their parents — whether out of blind rebellion or early maturity — is that their parents still (somewhat) control their movements, and may not let them go vote, or may intimidate them into voting a particular way. while this is realistically still true of some 18 year olds, at least there young adult has the theoretical option of exercising their legal independence.
it’s also worth noting, perhaps, that a voting age of 16 would only lower the average age of first eligibility for a presidential vote to 18, due to the 4-year cycle.)
however, i take issue with this: “If 16 year-olds were to vote, I would want to see a massive nationwide investment in extra social studies education from elementary school through high school.” we need that massive investment anyway! you can make the point that 16-year old voters make that more needful, but honestly, i think that’s the best part about letting 16-ers vote — it would serve as a kick in the pants to make civics seen as an important part of education again.
(the number of people i know under 40 who can’t name every president of their lifetime scares me. the number of people who don’t know how to figure out when elections will be scares me. the sorts of things people are accused of doing in Florida in recent years are plausible mostly because we know that people don’t understand the system, because we don’t teach it. it’s entirely possible it could happen in the future, and that scares me.)
On the other hand, Vynce, you yourself have made a civic blunder. There are elections every year, and sometimes, many times a year – just not presidential elections.
actually, I made no such blunder; that’s why i specified “presidential”.
In Kentucky, where i grew up, the governorship election cycle is on odd-numbered years, and i was told (though don’t know if it’s true) that this is specifically to keep people in practice and habit of going to the polls on the appointed day every year. i wish the same were true of congressional elections.