Have you ever felt like something so important, so powerful, was just beyond your reach? This is how
so many teenagers feel about voting. As we all know, in order to vote for the President of the
United States, you must be eighteen or older. This is because when you are eighteen, you are
considered an adult, and seen as mature. The voting age should be lowered because many people are
mature enough to vote well before this age. Sixteen year olds should get the rights they deserve,
which include voting. I believe the voting age should be lowered to sixteen. Sixteen year olds can
drive, work, and sometimes even pay taxes. So if they are responsible enough to work for the
government and pay the government, then why do they not get a say in it? Another reason I believe
sixteen year olds should get the right to vote is because many young people feel like their opinions
don't matter. They feel like people never take them seriously because of their age. But if they
get the right to vote, then maybe they will feel like their opinions do matter and they will
research each candidate, and find out as much information about voting they can. They will be glad
that they will be taken seriously, and that they may be able to make a difference. Plus, age is just
a number. If sixteen year olds had been born only two years earlier then their birth date, they
would be able to vote. But what's the difference really? There are many adults that are way less
mature than most sixteen year olds, so why should they get to vote? If maturity is really the issue
here, then why do they let drug addicts and criminals vote just because of a number? Sixteen year
olds should have to prove themselves mature enough to vote, though, for the people who do not
believe they should get the right to. One thing they should have is a grade average of a 3.3 GPA or
higher. We want the government to know that sixteen year olds are mature. They must also attend one
or more candidate's speeches. Each school should take their sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen year
olds to a speech that is near them. This will help them understand that candidate a little better.
Also, every high school throughout the nation should teach all of the information about voting. (The
Electoral College, what the country is like at that moment, the major things to consider when
voting, etc.) Some people may disagree with lowering the voting age to sixteen though. Many adults
might say that when you are sixteen, many things are going on in your life, so you may be too busy
to worry about politics. Yes, I agree, teenagers are usually very busy. But with their busy lives,
I'm sure they see many things they do not want to see. So maybe they will want to change some of
the bad things in their busy lives. To do this, they can research the candidates and about voting.
Some people might also say that you only get to be young once, so they shouldn't waste their
'kid' years worrying about the government and politics. But if they only get to be young once,
then shouldn't they make the best of it? If they are living in a world where they are unhappy,
then they should get to change the things they are upset about. After all, you're only young once,
right? So why spend the time being unhappy? Everyone deserves the right to vote, even sixteen year
olds. I believe sixteen year olds should get to vote. But, in order to do that, they must prove
themselves mature enough to prove to people they made the right choice in letting them vote. But who
knows? Maybe they won't be. But maybe, just maybe, they can be all the difference.