EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

Janell · Veteran Member

14 year old voters in California

kb · Senior Member

Haha I think it's a bad idea for 14 and 15 year olds
People with kids are just going to have their kid vote for whatever they would like

krea · Senior Member

i really dont agree with this. most 14 year olds arent educated enough about poltics to make a thought out choice. we should just keep it at 18 when the person is officially an adult

cstair23 · Senior Member

i think 14 is to young
i have no problem with the 18 year old minimum
although i will admit i was quite sad i did not get to vote

however i think the 16/17 half vote isnt a bad idea
any younger i think is a bad idea

alliestoom · Senior Member

oh i think thats amazing! i would love to be able to vote. coming from the perspective of someone who knows whats going on, it's fantastic. on the other hand, it could be a total disaster. parents could force their children to vote for them, and that would be unfair. i mean, how many 14 year olds are going to be completely sure which candidate they like? i believe that a majority of people choose their political preferences based on their parents conversations, opinions, etc. rather than doing their own research. im not sure about the testing, or how accurate it could be. i dont think its happening anytime soon though, if they do end up doing the youngin' vote.

Beccawicks · Senior Member

I think lowering it to age 16 is fair. Around this time you are developing your own opinions, which may or may not match your parent's. Notice things like the rallies against Prop 8, and even some who agreed with it, they were led by young people. A lot of those participating weren't even eligible to vote. Political awareness is becoming more widespread with the use of the internet and stuff. 14 is too young I think.

As far as the voting test, a large amount of Americans would not pass that test and it is a right that all American citizens, with few exceptions, can vote. I don't think that should be changed.

patrickisoverrated · Senior Member

I suppose it doesn't matter to me because by the time the next Presidential Election rolls around, I will be old enough. Better yet, the next time ANY election rolls around I will be old enough.

KSF{Kodies} · Senior Member

i believe this could be a good idea, but i do believe there should be some sort of test to analyze how qualified the people are to vote, and i believe this at any age. There are way to many people out there that are swayed by the media, or by celebrities to vote a certain way. there should be a test with simplistic questions for people to answer proving they actually are somewhat aware of what they are doing. Voting is a privledge in the US, and some people do not take it seriously and look into the facts before voting. The decision of the next President is monumental, and needs to be treated as such. Voters should be educated.

kinda off of this topic but in the same area, it makes me sad to here when people in california, especially, dont vote, because they dont think it will affect the outcome in anyway. This is not true regardless of whether your vote swings a state, it matters. Its standing up for what you believe in. EVERYONE when eligible should vote every chance they get and pay attention to what is happening in their government because it WILL affect their lives for years to come.

Codenamelivi · Veteran Member

I even think that 18 years is to young, most 18 years olds I know are still immature, so 14 is wayyy to young.

-stuart denton

Flanny · Senior Member

i think we should keep at 18 and above it seems to have worked so far.

LauraHernandez17 · Senior Member

i think the only 14-17 year olds who will actually take the initiative to register and go in on voting day are the ones who have a general idea of whats going on and we are the future right? so why not? and no on the tests cause i dont know it sounds like the old days where they'd give people literacy tests..

patrickisoverrated · Senior Member

LauraHernandez17 wrote:

i think the only 14-17 year olds who will actually take the initiative to register and go in on voting day are the ones who have a general idea of whats going on and we are the future right? so why not? and no on the tests cause i dont know it sounds like the old days where they'd give people literacy tests..

I think the problem is with parents trying to their kids them to vote for who they(The Parents) want.

-- Edited by patrickisoverrated at 18:34, 2009-01-14

jessmontano · Veteran Member

i think that it would be a bad idea to lower the voting
age because the younger you are the easier it is for
someone to influence you. i know anyone at any age
can be influenced but i just think that younger people
are more vulnerable. just keep the voting age at 18.

rtheisen · Senior Member

I think this is a bad idea. Even if the children know the candidates position on certain topics or the meaning of a proposition, I don't think they would be able to seem the ramifications of what they are voting for. Plus, they haven't really been educated about the constitution.

Janell · Veteran Member

Jessica makes a good point. Imagine Hanna Montana's influence on the young...

MARISA CELISE TORRES · Veteran Member

i think the voting age should be down to 17 years young because we all have our own opinions at that age, but lowering than 17 is just dumb. iit hink we are more informed because we actually care waht is going on.
the test thing owul dbe a good idea, but i don't think the 18 years and older should take it because they are adults, and they can do what they want.

Zach_V · Senior Member

14 and 15 year olds don't really know what's going on in the world of politics. They shouldn't be able to vote. Some parents would probibly force their kids to vote for their party too.

LauraHernandez17 · Senior Member

patrickisoverrated wrote:

LauraHernandez17 wrote:

i think the only 14-17 year olds who will actually take the initiative to register and go in on voting day are the ones who have a general idea of whats going on and we are the future right? so why not? and no on the tests cause i dont know it sounds like the old days where they'd give people literacy tests..

I think the problem is with parents trying to their kids them to vote for who they(The Parents) want.

-- Edited by patrickisoverrated at 18:34, 2009-01-14

well yeah i can see that. true true. I would probably do that to my sister hah

drewtekulve · Senior Member

I think it's ridiculous.

People that young don't know what the hell is going on in the world of politics, and at that age i listened to whatever my parents say. (Trust me, I have different views now)

BUt then again, you would get votes by children only based on appearance, not politics, which is horrible.

In which case, you will get political campaigns on MTV, or perhaps THE N.

nooo thank you.

-- Edited by drewtekulve at 18:46, 2009-01-14

KSF{Kodies} · Senior Member

influencing people to vote or even think a certain way is bad, almost brainwashing (though that sounds worse) if anything kids should be educated on that in school if the age is lowered.

Danika · Veteran Member

i think a half vote for 17 year olds is not a bad idea- i know i wish i could have voted, even if it was only a half. 14-16 is just too young, like everyone's been saying, at that point in their lives people are too swayed by what their parents want and think. i also think that simplistic tests of each candidates issues before a person votes should be required always. if people have no idea what is going on and is only voting for a condidate because their favorite celebrity is, they should not be voting. which is another factor why 14-16 year olds shouldn't be voting, they are too swayed by the media as well as their parents.

KirstenHarms · Veteran Member

i think we should stick to 18 and up because the 14 year olds are way to easliy influenced, like jess said.

coolkidchaney · Veteran Member

If it aint broke then don't fix it just keep it at 18.

sophie · Veteran Member

14?! irritable teenagers?! no way.

ginagaunt! · Veteran Member

definatly 18..
but 17 counted as half voters isn't a bad idea... just because i barley just missed this time around :/

davidtvelasco · Veteran Member

I think 14 and 15 year-olds aren't old enough to know what they are voting for. They would probably just end up voting for whoever their parents vote for, seeing as how they are the ones who would be taking them to the poles.

DerChancellorJake · Guru

This is a dumb idea. Why cant they just wait until they are 18?

Date: Jan 10, 2010

DerChancellorJake wrote:

This is a dumb idea. Why cant they just wait until they are 18?

Oh wait, its so that they can get more democrat votes from all the liberal high school students.

DerChancellorJake · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

DerChancellorJake wrote:

This is a dumb idea. Why cant they just wait until they are 18?

Oh wait, its so that they can get more democrat votes from all the liberal high school students.

I said this, just wasn't signed in

loverboy · Veteran Member

This would be a horrible idea, I myself did not have the capability to vote correctly during that age.

sydneybreann · Veteran Member

This is a terrible idea! As much as I want to vote, I don't think that 14 and 15 year olds are qualified to vote. I mean honestly 14 and 15 year olds would vote similar to how they vote for American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance. They vote based on who they like better as a person, who they think looks better etc. They wouldn't vote based on policies. They also don't really look ahead into the future as much as adults do and as a result we would get voters who are willing to vote on a whim as apposed to making an informed decision.