As the 2024 American elections arrive, many voters are getting ready to pick the next president for the proceeding four years. For the last few months, this country has seen the youth become more critical of the government. Although most of the denunciation of the government comes from college-aged adults, some high schoolers are also actively looking for more representation and one of the best ways to participate in the country is to vote.
From the age of 16, most teens are able to drive and get a job, however, they are not able to vote in elections. Some teens believe that they should be able to be directly involved in politics.
Alexa, a junior at Cardozo said, “We are the youth and we have to live in the world that elected officials have made for us.” She added that the youth are more affected by the decisions of politicians, stating, “Especially the budget cuts to schools. Also we’re going into college as well so whatever rules that politicians put into place will impact us later.”
Others believe that voting should only be available to people 18 years or over, because teens are still learning about the world around them.
Ms. Ramirez, a Spanish teacher at Cardozo, thinks that her students are not ready to commit to a vote. “You’re still learning about U.S. History and Government,” she said. 16-year-olds are mostly in 11th grade—this means that if Cardozo students get the opportunity to vote, they would still not have taken U.S. Government yet.
Additionally, Ms. Ramirez added, “You are still under parental custody and guidance—at 18 you are legally independent. So for now, your parents decide your schooling and where you live.”
This shows that students are still dependent on their parents for most parts of their life, and therefore, might not have enough independence to decide their votes by themselves.
Alice, a 16 year old sophomore at Cardozo agrees. She believes that she should not be able to vote at 16 because her peers and herself are not ready to vote.
“I’m not very experienced in politics and neither are my friends,” she said. Alice believes that if minors were able to cast votes, they would not have full knowledge of what party they are committing to. “I think that when you are younger, it is easy to have your opinions influenced by others, as opposed to when you grow older and your morals, politics, and values stay with you.” Also, she thinks that most 16-year-olds would not participate in the ballot because politics would just not interest them.
Overall, while some argue that the voting age should change, there are more arguments as to why it should remain 18 and older.