Motown Strong: Nope to Change

Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi today offered up the suggestion of lowering the voting age to 16 from its current 18:

“I’m for - and I’m interested in hearing your thoughts, and I know you’ll let me know - for lowering the voting age to high school age, whether it’s 16 or 17 or, because when kids are in school they’re so interested, they’re so engaged, and we would like them to be ready at least to register before they leave.”

Pelosi's comments came near the end of a speech at the Generation Progress ‘Make Progress’ National Summit, an annual event hosted by Generation Progress, a national organization that empowers, engages, and mobilizes young people around progressive policy issues.

So the comments, while not the centerpiece of her speech, were certainly germane to the overall focus of the summit.

At first glance, it's an intriguing idea, and at least worthy of debate. More than 140 nations currently have 18 as their voting age. Several others (such as Taiwan and Japan) do not give young adults the right to vote until they are 21. However, in several countries the voting age is younger - in Korea, Sudan and Indonesia it is 17, in Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua it is 16, and in Iran it is as low as 15. And in a number of well-known democracies, such as Great Britain and Australia, there are discussions to lower the voting age to 16.

In 1971, at the peak of the youth protests of the baby boom generation, the United States passed the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. Young people strongly supported the amendment because they believed "if they were old enough to fight, they were old enough to vote."

And there are some persuasive arguments as to why the U.S. should consider lowering it again. By the age of 16, young adults have been educated for at least 10 years; most of them have some level of experience of work as well as school. Theoretically, by this time, they have formed some political views, and should be allowed to put these across at election time. Also, 16- and 17-year-olds often have some sort of employment; if so, they are being taxed without true representation. They are not allowed to have a say in how the government spends their money, nor in how much should be collected from them in taxes. Policies such as working hours and conditions, or the minimum wage, are also set by governments; if these teens are old enough to have jobs, they should be able to have their say in these (and other) issues.

Further, giving the vote to teenagers would force politicians to take them seriously. One of the biggest complaints we hear is, teens aren't taken seriously by adults. There is a lot of merit to this position; they aren't taken seriously because they don't have the practical life experiences of older generations. Empowering teens in the election process with the power of voting could change this misconception.

As an educator, and as a debate coach, I am all about inclusion, and am pretty open to new ideas. But I don't think I can go there on this topic. And I say this as someone who, for nearly 20 years, has worked closely with some amazingly intelligent, perceptive and politically aware high school students (some of whom I trust with their political views more than I do of fellow adults).

First of all, when you are 16 or 17, you are still considered a "minor." Minors, according to current laws, are not considered mature enough to take part in consuming alcohol, tobacco products and make other important consent based decisions. In most cases, individuals under the age of 18 are not tried as adults for violent crimes. In a sense, voting for elected officials is a right and responsibility granted to adults.

Further, 16- and 17-year-olds are, by and large, not mature enough yet to have a grasp on the numerous local, state, regional, national and international issues that make up the platform of most candidates for public office. It could be dangerous to give young people the vote, because they don't really know some of the intricacies of these important topics. I've heard plenty of students say, based just on impulse, when a generic voting question comes up, that the U.S. should "lower the federal drinking age" or "legalize pot" or "legalize all drugs" just because "it seems cool." This is as illogical as voting for someone because "his daughter's hot" or "she's Asian" or "he's Jewish." (Sidebar: I've heard those arguments, too.)

The vast majority of teens still live at home and go to school; many are just being introduced to the ideas and ideals of government in civics classes. They aren't independent, and - I hate to say - aren't really independent thinkers yet. When considering lowering the voting age, one must consider what is really on the minds of teenagers around the country: prom, high school, friends, music, and … voting? One of these is not like the other. Is this stereotypical thinking? To a degree, yes; but I also know that a solid majority of high school students really don't spend time thinking about voting issues. Most don't even know who their school board (elected) members are. Most don't know who their county commissioner, municipal mayor or council members, state representative or senator, or federal representative or senator, are. And these are the elected officials who are of utmost importance to their world.

Gaba, you say, this is all nice, but you don't present any hard data! Fair enough; we can't truly ascertain how many 16- and 17-year-olds would vote since there's no sample size of this specific age bracket. However, there is a similar group where more than 40 years' worth of raw data is available, and it works against advancing voting rights to high school students: The passage of the 26th Amendment.

The U.S. Census published a study of voting records from 1964-2012, and it shows voters aged 18-24 were the least-likely to actually go and cast ballots in federal elections. Since it passed, that age range has never achieved even 50 percent voter turnout, easily the lowest of any age range; only 38 percent of this group voted in the November 2012 general election. And while more activism by teens via social media has been observed, The Washington Post noted that the impact of sites such as Twitter and Facebook has not led to increased voting by young adults.

Last October, The Economist pointed out that this trend is not unique to the U.S.:

In 2010 just 44% of people aged 18 to 24 voted in Britain’s general election, compared with 65% of people of all ages. In not a single European country do the young turn out more than older people. Historically, youth turnout has never been particularly high anywhere, but over the past few decades things have got worse.

Ironically, the "youth vote" has been seen as a primary target by several presidential candidates the past 20+ years. In June 1992, Bill Clinton appeared in front of a live audience of 18 to 24 year olds on MTV, answering questions from the audience. He even appearing on The Arsenio Hall Show, famously played the saxophone with the show’s band. And in 2008, Barack Obama ran a grassroots campaign based on the mantra of hope and change, generating a wave of support from his youth voters and those who plan to vote for him when they become eligible.

Having said this, my upper-level debate students will be participating in a 2016 campaign project for the duration of the upcoming school year. It should be interesting, provocative, and might even change my mind, depending on how things proceed. Like I said, I'm open to new ideas, and have been known to change my mind on occasion.

CAMPAIGN 2016 NEWS OF THE DAY:

From New York Magazine: "Why the GOP Primary Is Doomed by the Free Market" - "The GOP is at risk of becoming less of a political party and more like a talent agency for the conservative media industry."

FACEPALM NEWS OF THE DAY:

From Krebs on Security: "Online Cheating Site AshleyMadison Hacked" - Traditional "cheating on marriage" takes a hit.

FLORIDA NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Daily Mail: "Florida tollbooth worker, 77, gets fired after 30 years on job for PAYING driver's $5 toll" - I'm still not sure why "pay8ing it forward" (so to speak) is an issue.

WEIRD NEWS OF THE DAY:

Mrom The Mirror: "'It's the strangest thing': This schoolgirl hates chicken nuggets, but eats bubble wrap, play dough and sand" - I guess it doesn't taste like chicken!

SPORTS NEWS OF THE DAY:

From ESPN: "Football from AFC Championship Game sold for nearly $44K in auction" - Deflated football, meet inflated auction sale.

VIDEO OF THE DAY:

Happy 37th birthday, Magic Man!