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1st Draft Research Position Paper
1st Draft Research Position Paper
Paxton Retchless
Mr. Ventura
ENG 1530
11 January 2021
Fifty years ago, the voting age was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Now, some
people are fighting to lower the voting age again, this time to sixteen. Those who want to lower
the voting age again believe sixteen- and seventeen-year olds are affected by many current
events and governmental policies, but have no say in them, and their abilities to work and drive
make them mature enough to vote (Astor). However, supporters of lowering the voting age are
certainly met with opposition. Those who oppose lowering the voting age believe sixteen- and
seventeen-year olds are in fact not ready, and society keeps increasing the age of responsibilities,
not lowering it. Also, civic tests have shown that younger voters are not very knowledgeable
about civics (Davenport). The opposition provides strong points, but what if the civic knowledge
of younger people could be increased? Studies conducted in Austria and Norway found that
lowering the voting age was beneficial when the education system was modified to increase civic
knowledge (Zeglovits). A solution to the issue is yet to be determined, but with the increasing
desire to vote among sixteen- and seventeen-year olds, the debate needs to be resolved. If
lawmakers mandate an increase in civic education at the appropriate grade levels, they should
also allow sixteen- and seventeen-year olds to vote. If governments mandated higher levels of
civic education, younger people could become knowledgeable enough and prepared to vote.
Many people have strong reason to believe the voting age should be lowered because
sixteen- and seventeen- year olds are affected by current issues and their responsibilities make
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them ready to vote. Sixteen- and seventeen-year olds are affected by several current issues, and
“the rationale is that between climate change, gun violence, student debt and other issues, they
do have enough skin in the game” (Astor). Some sixteen- and seventeen-year olds experienced
gun violence firsthand during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Highschool shooting, which is
only one of many high school shootings that have occurred. After the Marjory Stoneman
Douglas Highschool shooting, sixteen- and seventeen- year olds created and participated in the
March for Our Lives Campaign, which shows their interest in political issues. One of the issues
with lowering the voting age to sixteen is they do not have an obvious reason like eighteen-year
olds did. At eighteen, people can join the military, which was the driving factor for lowering the
voting age the first time. Supporters of lowering the voting age believe, “People tend to focus on
at 18 you can join the military, but there are a lot of things happening at 16” (Astor). Although
the reasoning for sixteen- and seventeen-year olds is not as outright obvious, the supporters
argue they still have many responsibilities, including driving, working, and being taxed, that
make them ready to vote. A major representative for these arguments is Representative Ayanna
Presley of Massachusetts. In March, Pressley proposed an amendment to lower the voting age to
sixteen, but the amendment failed 126 to 305 (Astor). These arguments were not enough to make
the majority of the House of Representatives believe the voting age should be lowered.
People also support lowering the voting age because the voter turnout for people of all
ages could increase. Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, young people were very
involved and played a significant role in voter turnout. Research conducted about engagement
pre-election showed fifty-one percent of youth tried to convince other youth to vote, and seventy
percent of youth talked to friends about political issues or elections (Beadle). Evidently, young
people encourage their peers to vote, but also their elders. As a result of youth participation in
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politics, a “trickle-up” effect could occur, and older people could become more civically
involved because kids are talking about politics in the home. A program called Kids Voting is “a
national mock election program which allows children in grades K-12 to vote at the polls while
learning about the political process through a comprehensive classroom curriculum” (Mandell).
A survey conducted in 1966 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” (Mandell). A lower voting age could also increase
voter turnout in the future. Research conducted in Austria and Norway determined the turn-out
rates among sixteen- and seventeen-year old first-time voters were much higher than that of
eighteen to twenty-one-year old first-time voters. This is important because “If someone starts as
a voter, she or he will most likely vote again. If someone starts as a non-voter, she or he will
probably develop the habit of non-voting,” and “high turn-out rates among 16-and 17-year-olds
thus might raise hopes for future turn-out rates” (Zeglovits). The Speaker of the United States
House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, agrees a lower voting age could increase voter turnout,
and sixteen- and seventeen year olds should be allowed to vote while they are engaged in politics
in high school.
Lowering the voting age can also be beneficial when civic education is increased within
schools. The research conducted in Austria and Norway found this idea to be true. Lowering the
voting age was beneficial in Austria, but not in Norway. The main difference was that Austria
modified its education system to increase civic knowledge, while Norway did not (Zeglovits).
Austria “introduced some changes in the school curricula, introduced civic education as a subject
in the eighth grade (students aged 12–13) and implemented awareness raising campaigns or
projects and mock elections in schools” (Zeglovits). Austria exposed their youth to politics and
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sufficiently taught them about civics at a young age. Youth in Norway participated in trial
elections in certain municipalities, but the Austrian youth were fully enfranchised. In Norway,
the political interest of sixteen- and seventeen-year olds was much lower than that of older first-
time voters, but in Austria, no significant difference of political interest was found (Zeglovits).
This implies the increased civic education increased interest in politics among sixteen- and
seventeen-year olds. Similarly for political knowledge, “there is no knowledge gap in Austria
between 16- and 17-year-olds and older first-time voters, whether in knowledge of the political
system or in knowledge of political actors” (Zeglovits). Also, the quality of vote choice was not
lower for sixteen- and seventeen-year olds than older first-time voters in Austria, but in Norway,
sixteen- and seventeen-year olds had more inconsistency between attitudes and vote choice than
older voters. All of these findings show an increase in civic education can make a difference and
Although people provide strong points in favor of lowering the voting age, people who
oppose lowering the voting age have strong points of their own. People who oppose lowering the
voting age believe sixteen- and seventeen-year olds are not ready to vote yet. Some say society
keeps increasing the age of responsibilities, not lowering it. Civic tests are also showing that
younger voters are not very knowledgeable in civics. On previous civic tests, only twenty-three
percent of the younger voters scored proficient or above (Davenport). This proves that, currently,
many sixteen- and seventeen-year olds do not know much about civics, and implies that they
may not be able to make informed decisions while voting. Some argue that sixteen-year olds “are
not even trusted to get a mortgage or borrow money without a guarantor” (Brown). Most
members of the the House of Representatives agree with these arguments and oppose lowering
the voting age, including Tennessee Representative Mark. E Green. Green believes America
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does not even allow sixteen-year olds to buy a beer because of their inability to reason at that
age, so lowering the voting age is foolish (Astor). Some people also do not want to lower the
voting age because they believe the democratic party will largely benefit. They believe sixteen-
and seventeen-year olds are more likely to vote for the left, and some people only want the
change in order to favor their party (Brown). These people also believe that even though
reasoning may show the voting age should not be lowered, democrats will still support the issue
as a political motive (Davenport). The people who agree with these ideas are mostly
Republicans. Many Republicans fear lowering the voting age could severely hurt their political
As of right now, people who oppose lowering the voting age have good reason to. As
previously mentioned, many sixteen- and seventeen-year olds are not knowledgeable enough yet,
as only twenty-three percent of the younger voters scored proficient or above on previous civic
tests (Davenport). This is a valid point, but can be counteracted with an increase in civic
education. With the implementation of higher civic education in Austria, “the quality of the vote
choice is not lower for 16- and 17-year-olds than for older first-time voters,” and “there is no
knowledge gap in Austria between 16- and 17-year-olds and older first-time voters….” An
increase in civic education can allow sixteen- and seventeen-year olds to make quality, informed
decisions while voting. The point that sixteen- and seventeen-year olds cannot buy a beer
because of their inability to reason at that age cannot be counteracted, but eighteen, nineteen, and
twenty-year olds cannot buy a beer either and they are still allowed to vote. Although the idea
that Democrats only want to lower the voting age as a political motive could be a valid concern,
the assumption that young people vote largely democratic is untrue. Research has found “while
it's true that young voters have favored Democrats in the past few elections, that is a relatively
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recent trend and is not uniform across the country. In 7 of the last 12 presidential elections,
young voters have either preferred the Republican candidate or favored the Democrat by less
than 5 percentage points” (CIRCLE). Young people do not vote as democratically as most
people believe. People who oppose lowering the voting age have valid concerns, but they can be
counteracted.
Lowering the voting age to sixteen in the United States has been considered for multiple
years. Many valid reasons for lowering the voting age are sixteen- and seventeen-year olds are
affected by current issues, have adult-like responsibilities, and can increase voter turnout of
people of all ages. Some opposer’s believe lowering the voting age will largely favor the
democratic party, but this has been invalidated and cannot be considered viable in this argument.
The people who believe sixteen- and seventeen-year olds are not knowledgeable enough about
civics have valid reasoning, but this can be counteracted by increasing civic education in schools.
Research has shown the voting age can successfully be lowered to sixteen if civics are instilled
and taught in schools. If lawmakers mandate an increase in civic education at the appropriate
grade levels, they should also allow sixteen- and seventeen-year olds to vote.
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Works Cited
Astor, Maggie. “16-Year-Olds Want a Vote. Fifty Years Ago, So Did 18-Year-Olds.” The New
Beadle, Kelly, et. al. “Election Week 2020: Young People Increase Turnout, Lead Biden to
Brown, Steven. "'16 Is Far Too Young' England Urged NOT to Reduce Voting Age to 16;
Follow Wales and Reduce the Voting Age to 16." Express Online, June 2,
2020. advance-lexis-com.jsrvproxy1.sunyjcc.edu/api/document?
collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:6020-F861-JCJY-G2FR-00000-
circle.tufts.edu/understanding-youth-civic-engagement/dispelling-myths-about-youth-
Davenport, David. "Don't Rock the Vote: Why the Voting Age Is Plenty Low Enough
OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A613204356/AONE?
Mandell, Keith. "Lowering the Voting Age Will Increase Voter Turnout." Greenhaven Press,
Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010525207/OVIC?
Zeglovits, Eva. "Voting at 16? Youth Suffrage is Up for Debate." European View, vol. 12, no. 2,
com.jsrvproxy1.sunyjcc.edu/docview/1467021883?accountid=39896,
doi:http://dx.doi.org.jsrvproxy1.sunyjcc.edu/10.1007/s12290-013-0273-3. Accessed 11
Jan. 2021.