Should 16- and 17-year-olds be allowed to vote? Here are the two sides. Young people are affected by local political issues as much as anyone else. They also work without limits on working hours and pay taxes on their income, can drive in most states and, in some cases, are tried in adult courts. Sixteen and 17-year-olds deserve the right to vote on issues that affect them at the local level. Moreover, voting is the most reliable way for ordinary citizens to influence government. Lowering the voting age would require local politicians to listen to sixteen and 17-year-olds and address their concerns. George M. Montross of Detroit sent the letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Emanuel Celller to express outrage at the decision to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. He questioned the legality of the action, saying the Constitution had been violated “deliberately and flagrantly” by those who had sworn to protect it. Government decisions affect the lives of adolescents. So more teens deserve a voice in how their city is run, some people say. Moreover, voting is a habit, others say. People who start voting at age 16 may be more likely to vote than adults.
1788-1789When George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States, only white men who owned land or business could vote. (New Jersey is an exception. This state allowed wealthy single women and African-American men who owned land to vote until 1807.) The voting age is a minimum legal age that a person must reach before being eligible to vote in a public election. Today, the most common voting age is 18; However, the voting age is currently 16 to 25 (see list below). Most countries have set a minimum voting age, which is often set out in their constitutions. Voting is compulsory in a number of countries, while it is optional in most countries. Lowering the voting age to 16 in the United Kingdom was first seriously considered on December 15, 1999, when the House of Commons in committee considered an amendment proposed by Simon Hughes to the Representation of the People Bill. [46] This was the first time that lowering the voting age to less than 18 had been voted in the House of Commons. [47] The government rejected the amendment by a vote of 434 to 36. [47] 1870The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives all men the right to vote, regardless of “race, color, or former condition of servitude.” But Southern states soon created restrictions that prevented black men from voting in most areas for nearly 100 more years.
1924A new law declares Native Americans to be U.S. citizens. This means they can choose. Some states are preventing Native Americans from voting anyway. A handful of small towns already allow young teens to vote in local elections. But San Francisco would be the first major U.S. city to do so. Some teens think the current voting age is unfair — and are pushing for change. Their efforts have been successful in a handful of U.S.
cities. For example, Berkeley, California, and Takoma Park, Maryland, both have 16-year-olds voting in local elections. 31. In October 2007, the Assembly adopted by 30 votes to 15 a reduction proposal[74][75], which was adopted by the State House of Representatives Committee of Guernsey and approved by the State Political Affairs Committee. [75] [76] On 12 December, a regulation assenting to the Act was published in Council[70] and registered at Guernsey Court on 19 December. It came into force immediately and the voting age was lowered in time for the 2008 general election in Guernsey. [77] In 2004, the United Kingdom Electoral Commission conducted a broad consultation on voting and candidacy age and received an important response. In his conclusions, he recommended leaving the voting age at 18. [50] On November 29, 2005, the House of Commons voted 136-128 against a bill by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams to lower the voting age to 16. When Parliament was passed in 2006, it decided not to include a provision on lowering the voting age in the Election Administration Act. No right is more valuable in a free country than the right to have a choice in the election of those who make the laws according to which. We have to live.
