Regardless of your feelings on Ralph, what do you think of this idea? I'm in favopr of it and think he makes a good case. This would be good issue for Kerry to steal.

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*Ralph Nader Favors Youth Voting: Lowering the Voting Age to 16*

Ralph Nader favors lowering the voting age to 16 years old. He
recognizes that 16 year olds work, pay taxes and more and more often are
subjected to criminal laws passed that treat them like adults. In
addition, democracy in the United States needs to be re-invigorated.
Allowing youth the right to vote will increase voter participation, not
only of 16 to 18 year olds, but also in the longer term as youth are
taught at an early age the importance of voting. With this change in law
Ralph also favors increased instruction in school about civics,
government and the importance of voting. Some say youth are not smart
enough to vote, so rather than explaining all the very good reasons for
allowing the youth vote, Ralph believes it is best to let youth speak
for themselves.

“At the founding of our nation, only rich, white, land-owning men over
the age of twenty-one could vote. Later, it was any white man over
twenty-one. Following the Civil War, the Fifteenth Amendment gave the
vote to African American men. Next, in 1920, women's suffrage finally
paid off with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Finally, in 1970
the voting age was lowered to 18 due to the counter-cultural movements
of the 1960's. Over hundreds of years, the vote has spread from the
clutches of an elite few to an ever-greater percentage of the
population. Youth are simply the next item on the timeline of
Democracy's growth.”

*“Youth Suffrage,” Brad Vogel, Between the Lines, www.btlmag.org
<http://www.btlmag.org/>*

“What kind of twisted message do we send when we tell youth they are
judged mature, responsible adults when they commit murder, but silly,
brainless kids when they want to vote? This is a double standard, no
different than during the Vietnam War. War isn't a dead issue now
either, leaders who youth can't vote for today may send them to war
tomorrow. Lowering the voting age is the just, fair way to set things
straight.”

“For several reasons lowering the voting age will increase voter
turnout. It is common knowledge that the earlier in life a habit is
formed the more likely that habit or interest will continue throughout
life. If attempts are made to prevent young people from picking up bad
habits, why are no attempts made to get youth started with good habits,
like voting? If citizens begin voting earlier, and get into the habit of
doing so earlier, they are more likely to stick with it through life.

”Not only will turnout increase for the remainder of young voter's
lives, the turnout of their parents will increase as well: ‘A 1996
survey by Bruce Merrill, an Arizona State University journalism
professor, found a strong increase in turnout. Merrill compared turnout
of registered voters in five cities with Kids Voting with turnout in
five cities without the program. Merrill found that between five and ten
percent of respondents reported Kids Voting was a factor in their
decision to vote. This indicated that 600,000 adults nationwide were
encouraged to vote by the program.’” ("Proposal to Lower the Voting
Age." http://www.youthrights.org/voteproposal.html. Visited 22 February
2003 )

*Youth Rights http://www.youthrights.org/vote10.html*

* *

“When the USA was founded, suffrage was restricted to white male
landowners. Over time, it was extended to non-landowners, women,
lower-class people (through the elimination of the poll tax), and
minority races. There are no longer any groups whose voting rights are
automatically denied except for people under 18. It's a matter of social
progress. When other groups demanded the right to vote, many treated
their cause with hesitation or ridicule, but eventually social progress
prevailed. But the evolution of suffrage is not complete until it is
extended to everyone who deserves it, and we're working to move closer
to that goal.”

*Teen Vote http://www.teenvote.us/why*

the 16-18 voting demographic would be more emotionally driven, voting for the "cooler" candidate.

in some states you can't even get your license at 16

Like the decisions I made when I was like 16 were like TOTALLY well thought-out and WAY informed, y'know?

High schools would be able to incorporate voting and voter registration into civics classes. It could also help encourage activism in local politics. Think of the possibility that students could get active in school board elections and actually affect district policies.

but after all most people who are supporting Nader for President today act like two year olds, so I understand why he is for it

:evilgrin: You nailed it!

Max Frost says...

14 OR FIGHT!!!!

A blast from the past :)

who vote for whichever candidate can say 'jesus' the most.

or baby-booming reagan democrats who have sold out the principles of the 60s (no offense to those of you here who are in that age range but have kept your integrity)

poll after poll shows that the youth in this country lean to the left. i'd trust the internet generation to be more informed than the matlock set any day

Trust me, I'm around that age and NONE of my friends give a rats ass about who is running and what the issues are. I'd say about 10% of 16 y/o actually would vote in a general election and support a candidate based on their beliefs. The only 90% would probably NOT vote, or just vote for who they thought was cooler or who their parents told them to vote for.

Bad idea. I don't know very many teenagers who have actually formed real political opinions of their own. Not to say that I was typical but I didn't even start to really think about it until my early twenties.

...8 to 10 million 16 and 17 year olds. They could virtually all be registered to vote by their schools and, you bet they would be the biggest percentage voting block the turn out. Also, they could be a grass roots group who could actually get out the vote for millions of their family members across the country. That thread that showed of the 203 million 18+ who could vote, some 68 million aren't even registered! These young people (real Americans) could get a large number of those people motivated. Hey, maybe we can take our country back. I'm with you on this Ralph Nader, but you still won't get my vote.

I don't think 16-year-olds have enough legal responsibilities to justify their having the right to vote.
I do think, however, that it would make sense to allow them to vote in School Board elections. But not President, Senator, Governor, Mayor, etc.

First, it should get more 18-year-olds to vote. If raising the drinking age to 21 made less 18-year-olds drink, lowering the voting age to 16 should make more 18-year-olds vote.

Second, it should create more life-long voters. A lot of kids vote for the first time while their in college, which generally requires an absentee ballot. That's a little more work than the average college kid is willing to put in, so many never start voting. If you start kids voting in high school, they're more likely to make the effort to get an absentee ballot in college and continue voting for the rest of their lives. It's that first step that's hardest to take, and we should make it as easy as possible.

Did it spur 21 y/o's to vote?

Honest question.

18 is the age that gives them adult status.
18 is the age that everyone is considered emancipated from their parents without utilizing the court system.
18 is the age that most can marry without permission from their parents.
18 is the age that they can begin to sign contracts that are legally binding for all.

Many between the ages of 18 and 25 are still not ready for this type of responsibility. Of course there are plenty after that group in the same boat.

adults. They like to think of themselves as intelligent. However, if they were, they wouldn't be putting down the intelligence of 16 year olds. The real question should be whether those over 18 are smart enough to vote.

.... I would have to say NO. Unless they could pass a test or something. I know that I was very politically aware at that age, and some of you younguns at DU are as well. But there's an awful lot of kids out there who don't have any grasp on the world outside of what their Freeper parents and Reagan Cult Gospel church has rammed down their throats.

Those zombies have no business voting. Hell, if I had my way, they wouldn't even vote when they were 18 - unless they spent some time in the real world first.

but i think 16 is WAY too young. i don't think they are mature enough to take on that responsibility.

nm

and pink elephants and monkeys flying out of his butt... Doesn't matter, because he can "favor" and propose anything. He'll never have to actually try to implement any of it, nor will he ever achieve any of it, nor will he ever have to be accountable when he's unable to accomplish what he talks about. He's all talk.