Why should the voting age be lowered to 18?
Why should the voting age be lowered to 18?
The present-day youth are literate and enlightened and the lowering of the voting age would provide to the unrepresented youth of the country an opportunity to give vent to their feelings and help them become a part of the political process. It is, therefore, proposed to reduce the voting age from 21 years to 18 years.
How did 18 year olds get the right to vote?
An amendment to a bill extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (H.R. 4249) expanded the right to vote in national, state, and local elections to citizens 18 years and older. The proposed 26th Amendment passed the House and Senate in the spring of 1971 and was ratified by the states on July 1, 1971.
Should voting age be reduced to 16?
Those in favour of giving 16-year-olds the vote believe that: Young people deserve the right to vote as decisions about the future have greater implications for them than for older people. Voting young will enhance the habit of participation.
Why is the voting age 18 in Australia?
Voting age Young people paying taxes, driving cars, and serving their country during times of conflict, believed they were entitled to have a say in the composition of their government. In 1973, the Australian Parliament amended the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and lowered the minimum voting age to 18 years.
Who changed the voting age from 21 to 18?
On June 22, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required the voting age to be 18 in all federal, state, and local elections.
What was the voting age in 1972?
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution (Amendment XXVI) lowered the minimum voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. The United States Congress approved the amendment on March 23, 1971, and sent it to the states to be ratified.
Who lowered the voting age to 18?
In 1970, Senator Ted Kennedy proposed amending the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to lower the voting age nationally. On June 22, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required the voting age to be 18 in all federal, state, and local elections.
What was the original voting age?
The Twenty-sixth Amendment (Amendment XXVI) was ratified on July 1, 1971. It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and declared that “the right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”
Can 16 year olds vote in Scotland?
Voting age lowered to 16 for Scottish elections (2015) In 2015 the voting age for Scottish local elections and Scottish Parliament elections was reduced to 16 after a bill was passed unanimously in the Scottish Parliament.
What is the minimum age of voting in India?
– Every Indian citizen who has attained the age of 18 years on the qualifying date i.e. first day of January of the year of revision of electoral roll, unless otherwise disqualified, is eligible to be registered as a voter in the roll of the part/polling area of the constituency where he is ordinarily resident.
What year did the voting age become 18?
Can you vote at 16 in Australia?
You are required by law to enrol if you: are 18 years of age or older ▪ are an Australian citizen ▪ have lived at your current address for at least a month. If you are 16 or 17, you can enrol now so when you turn 18 you’ll be ready to vote.
How old should a 18 year old be?
Many experts believe that today’s 18 year-old is at least the equal, physically and mentally, of a 21 year-old of his father’s generation, or a 25 year-old of his grandfather’s generation. The contrast is clear in the case of education.
What can people under the age of 18 do?
People under age 18 have the ability to win a Nobel Prize, reach the summit of Mount Everest, conduct cancer research, become published authors, teach a graduate-level course in nuclear physics, run their own schools, work for NASA, and risk their lives to save others.
When do parents become more involved in politics?
Spikes in parental voting involvement occur when their children reach a voting age. If the voting age is lowered, parents would still likely follow this trend. 3. The involvement of more people creates more innovation. If you have 5 people in a room together, you have the potential for 5 different perspectives.
What’s the life expectancy in the UK at 18?
“By the age of 18 one has a good understanding of how the country is performing. The UK life expectancy is about 80 years, so at 18 years nearly a quarter of one’s life has passed. Therefore, I think one easily has enough life experience by 18 to make an informed decision” Anon
Spikes in parental voting involvement occur when their children reach a voting age. If the voting age is lowered, parents would still likely follow this trend. 3. The involvement of more people creates more innovation. If you have 5 people in a room together, you have the potential for 5 different perspectives.
Many experts believe that today’s 18 year-old is at least the equal, physically and mentally, of a 21 year-old of his father’s generation, or a 25 year-old of his grandfather’s generation. The contrast is clear in the case of education.
Can a 16 year old be ignorant to politics?
Ignorance to politics is not something that is limited to 16 and 17 year olds only. There are so many older people who are also completely ignorant. I think there is too much negativity towards young people and everyone assumes that they are all uneducated and ignorant.
When did the age of consent go down to 18?
When the 26th Amendment was passed in 1971, the age moved down to 18. It is speculated that allowing 18-year-olds the right to vote ties into the educational system, since many high school graduates are 18.