YM Blog: Lower the Voting Age

A few months ago, I stopped talking to my sister-in-law because she didn't plan on voting. It might seem harsh, but as a 17-year-old who's actively involved in campaigning but still too young to cast a ballot, I was furious that someone in my own family could be politically apathetic. Even though every important Caliornia ballot measure will have a direct impact on people my age, we're powerless to determine our own destinies.

For me, the ultimate hypocrisy in how our society views youth can be seen by drawing parallels between the death penalty and arguments against lowering the voting age. In California, people as young as sixteen are seen as mature enough to be sentenced to death. Yet the staple argument against lowering the voting age is that young people aren't mature enough make decisions about who leads our democracy. On November 4, voters will decide on proposition 6 , also known as the Runner Initiative. If passed, Prop. 6 will allow 14-year-olds to be sentenced to death.

Young people are routinely painted as criminals by the media, but the reality is that more teens are working than going to jail. Teens pay an estimated $9.7 billion dollars in sales taxes alone, at least 80 percent of high school students work at some point before graduation. Even in this year's election, teens have played a monumental role, despite being unable to cast a ballot. Taxation without representation, anymore?

There are people who are trying to change voting age laws. In March of 2004, former state Senator John Vasconcellos (D-CA) attempted to pass a bill (PDF) that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds with a 1/4 vote and 16- and 17-year-olds with a 1/2 vote. Ultimately, it was abandoned by the Senator because he couldn't get enough votes to move it on to the Senate floor.

Recently, the National Youth Rights Association is renewing calls to lower the voting age. As WireTap previously covered, the group released new public service announcements to lower the voting age:

(see video below)

Back in the sixties, when the voting age was 21 and teens were routinely shipped off to serve in the Vietnam War at 18, they protested. Ultimately, they won, and in 1971 the voting age was legally lowered to 18. Are our voices strong enough to win that same type of change today?

===================

More on lowering the voting age from WireTap: The Sweet 16 Vote (Sarah Burris)
Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age (Sarah Burris)

Monica Guerra is a 17-year-old high school senior at Balboa High School in San Francisco, Calif. She's a graduate of the Bay Area Multicultural Media Academy (BAMMA) and works with the League of Young Voters.