Republicans latest attempt to save a dying party - raise the voting age

There is a lot to consider here. First, I’m not sure I’m convinced about the differences between 18 yr olds today va those of 50 years ago. For one, I’d guess that, due in part to the internet, that today’s 18 year olds are very much more worldly than their 70s counterparts. I also know that their schooling is quite a bit more broad - eg a much higher proportion of high school grads today know calculus.

But moreover, even if we accept your claim that 18 year olds today are less mature (and your implicit claim that more mature people are better voters), this fact alone does nothing to determine exactly what threshold of maturity is the right one to demarcate voters from non voters. Why assume that the government of 1971 got this threshold exactly right and all deviations are in the wrong direction?

While the comparisons to 1971 are tricky, I do think that most of us would accept the claim that 21 year olds of today are more mature than 18 years today. But I would also say that 22 year olds today are more mature than 21 year olds. I’d also suggest that 30 year olds are more mature than 22 year olds. I’m sure that you can see the issue I’m driving at: voters of any age will be more mature in the following year, so any voting age cutoff will be arbitrary.

As a result, I think the most fair solution is to peg the voting age to the age of adulthood. So I wouldn’t think we should move the voting at to 21 unless we also want classify citizens as minors until 21 as well.

 

Valid points and perhaps you're onto something there raising the age of minors. My assertion that 18 years olds then are more more mature from necessity than now stems only in part from the internet. I admit it's more a qualitative argument than a quantitative one and like you said, very tricky. But I'd argue that the "age of adulthood" (or "age of maturity" if you prefer) has risen since then. Hopefully I can explain my thoughts here concisely.

The biggest thing is probably that the world simply has many more conveniences today and it's changed the way parents raise their kids. For example, many more teenagers had jobs back then so they had further exposure to the real world and its difficulties. Only 35% of kids 16-19 are in the workforce compared to over 50% as late as the turn of the millennium and down from almost 60% in the late 1970s (FRED supplies the statistic to back that up). Again, this was out of necessity; today's highschoolers don't necessarily have to get jobs to help support their families. The world (by and large) was also on more of a war footing from the 1940s through the end of Vietnam and really hasn't been so much since (in truth the end of the draft is likely the catalyst there). The mitigation of these difficulties aren't necessarily bad things by themselves. Quite the contrary, it's raised everyone up. But it's also changed the mindset of today's youth because parents want better for their kids than they had and because we as human beings learn more through adversity and failure than through success. Probably an unintended consequence.

 

If we propose taking voting rights away for those under 21, we should also do so for those over 65. It only seems fair.

 

The brain continues to develop until sometime around age 19. It’s not really a huge stretch to say 21/22 years of age would be a more apt age for voting… drinking makes sense to me at this age for the same reason.

 

I would propose those places that say you can work a job at 14 lower the voting age to 14

 

Nice insult. And your little buddy thinks it's a winner too. Guess both you guys are great replacement theory believers.

 

What can I say? Don't dish it out if you can't take it.

 

dangolegators: "Wah... these righties keep insulting me... wah."



Also dangolegators:

 

Well when you guys say dumb stuff I call it out. And you say a lot of dumb stuff. But for the most part I'm talking about what you posted and not saying stuff like 'You were dropped one too many times as a child.' or 'You’re just an unhappy soul.'.

And you clearly have been watching/reading too much right-wing media when you start espousing great replacement theory.

 

And you exhibit a lot of symptoms of being dropped on your head repeatedly as a baby.

I'm just calling it like I see it.

 

Another example of a really dumb post.

 

The notion of "better" voters is a faulty premise to begin with. The government imposes its laws on all adults, intelligent or not. Wise or not. Mature or not. Given that, everyone who has reached adulthood should have a say in how their government is run. It's basic consent of the governed.

More practically speaking, the 26th amendment makes the conversation moot. There's as much chance of raising the voting age as getting rid of the Senate or EC. Which is to say, none.

 

Pffft straight up testicular atrophy at full display.

House votes to send Santos expulsion resolution to ethics panel instead

 

I definitely agree that we’ve got a very different dynamic today and, particularly among the affluent, a situation where our youth doesn’t need to head a household so early in life. These people must be having very different experiences today.

Yet we still have a world where 18 year olds are adults and can legally enter contracts, work jobs, and pay taxes. In this world, it would seem against the spirit of the US to bar these people from having government representation. While I certainly think that I had a lot to learn at 18, I also now believe that I had a lot to learn at 30. And I am sure I am little closer to enlightenment today.

 

I know what you are saying. I think the idea that “the brain continues to develop” isn’t one that actually has a clear end either. Many claim it doesn’t stop developing until mid to late 20s: The Teen Brain: 7 Things to Know

And Certainly brains continue to change in some ways for the entire life. Again, I think if citizens are able to consent to agreements and to be taxed, they deserve representation. Maybe 19 year olds should instead be considered minors, but when one commits a crime, many feel differently.

 

wait until brains are fully developed might be the dumbest arg I've ever seen on here. I caint tell the diff 'tween an R & D til I gots my big boy brain. pure idiocy.

nows 'at I gots my big boy brain, I'ma gonna spend hours & hours alearnin' up on hows to vote cuz my vote's got .00001%* chance of matterin'!

about 150,000,000 votes were cast for Biden + Trump in 2020 & most by people with fully dev brains. So, that criterion seems pretty damn useless.


* that is the actual est for my vote mattering in a prez election & it is much higher than some other states.

 

It's an argument made by those who know that group won't vote in lockstep with their agenda so they propose they don't have a say. But they'll happily let 70 and 80+ years olds who have true failing mental capabilities vote because they tend to vote red.

Both should be able to vote to a degree, but it's disgusting to see them leave one group out and not the other because of how they vote.

But look at who is proposing and arguing this position. Not surprising.

 

It says a lot that you libbies will bend over backwards to keep the adolescent vote.
It’s embarrassing really.