In countries such as Scotland, Argentina, and Brazil, the voting age is at sixteen, while countries such as the United States have continued to keep the voting age at eighteen. Having changed the voting age to align with the Vietnam draft, the United States has been judged and berated for allowing such young children to participate in either activity. While many argue that sixteen is too young to participate in local and federal elections, there is reason to believe that the positives far outweigh the potential negatives. Not only does lowering the voting age increase the representation of the often disenfranchised group and the overall number of voters, it also promotes and prioritizes education. 

Being sixteen in the United States means many new freedoms; driving, donating blood, becoming an organ donor, and even marriage, but why not voting? Citizens under the age of eighteen are the most disenfranchised group in the United States. In recent research, it was shown that not only will sixteen year olds, if granted the opportunity, vote, but they would bring in more votes than those in their forties and 18-29 year olds combined. Another study confirmed that they will be voting in large numbers and ensure their vote for every upcoming election. By casting a vote in the first election they are eligible, it makes it a habit and will continue to bring back millions of voters. The more voters a nation has, the more representative the final tally is. By having millions of citizens being ineligible to vote, the election is only reporting a small percentage of the entire nation. By allowing sixteen and seventeen year olds to vote, the elections become more accurate with larger polling numbers and provide teens with basic citizen rights.

Teenagers are labeled as dumb or reckless by nearly everyone including their parents, teachers, and peers. Though this seems to be damning evidence against allowing teens to vote, it actually represents the stereotypes that few teens live up to. It has been proven time and time again that teens are some of the most impactful people in the nation. From Greta Thumberg to Malala, there are teens making a difference and making their voices heard all over the world and likely within most communities. Believe it or not, many teens that would be voting in elections don;t just make educated decisions, but they view politics from every angle possible. Yes there will be some teens that don’t pay much attention and just vote because it seems cool, but there are many adults out there that do the exact same thing, yet they still have their right to vote. Today’s teens are constantly breaking the dumb stereotype forced on them by making huge changes within their community and could do even more if given the right to vote.

While pro age change has its many positives, there are people that refuse to see them and keep their attention pulled on the negatives. One of the most common arguments is that teenagers have been proven to have an underdeveloped frontal cortex that impedes on their ability to make decisions without including their emotions, but that isn’t truly a negative. Yes teens do have a less developed frontal cortex and that is in control of making informed decisions regardless of personal emotions, but politics and voting is personal. The result of elections changes the course of many peoples lives for better or worse. If emotions were kept completely out of politics, there would be many policies in place preventing people of color, immigrants, and felons from having less rights than they are already provided. By keeping emotions out of politics, there could be even more families starving everyday because people didn’t see the need for wellcare or food stamps. Without emotions involved in politics, the United States would not be the global superpower that it is.

Teenagers, especially those sixteen and seventeen should not only be allowed to vote, but encouraged. It is their country too and they deserve to help make decisions that affect the entire nation. Without their vote, the election results are representing only a small portion of those affected, it continues to disenfranchise teens, and maybe worst of all, it discourages teens from taking a place in their community and help make a difference in the world.