Hey everyone!
Regarding what I mentioned in class about Takoma Park lowering their voting age for city elections, here are a couple of links to articles by the Washington Post about this:
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/takoma-park-grants-16-year-olds-right-to-vote/2013/05/14/b27c52c4-bccd-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html?utm_term=.7cc884ed3812
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/takoma-park-16-year-old-savors-his-history-making-moment-at-the-polls/2013/11/03/89f00962-425c-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html?utm_term=.6d010fd79028 (Fun Fact: I think the person this article is about goes to Pitzer).
This happened about four years ago. At the same time they also passed amendments allowing same day voter registration and giving paroled felons the vote. Non-citizens (including undocumented immigrants) have also been allowed to vote in city elections, which is a practice that seems to be becoming more common in Maryland (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/college-park-decides-to-allow-noncitizens-to-vote-in-local-elections/2017/09/13/2b7adb4a-987b-11e7-87fc-c3f7ee4035c9_story.html?utm_term=.a6316763dc07).
Voting age is an interesting issue. There are some 16 year olds who are very knowledgeable about politics, candidates, and laws. They may be able to positively contribute to US policies and government. Others could not care less about politics and therefore do not even know what is being discussed or who supports what. If these people voted, it may hurt the system because people may vote for things they don’t actually want. Considering the fact that 18-25 year olds are the group that votes the least out of other age groups, it is unlikely that very many 16 year olds would use the vote if given to them. The voting age used to be 21, but it got lowered to 18 to match the age Americans are eligible to go to War. Some may argue that if 16 year olds can drive, then they should have a say in the laws. But, 16 year olds may vite for things that seem like a good idea to them, but are not good for society. Many 16 year olds probably lack the knowledge needed to make an informed voting decision. If we were to lower the voting age, I think it would be a good idea to provide some sort of mandated class or training that would inform people about politics, political parties, and current debates. Still, I think more harm than good can come from lowering the voting age further.
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