The voting age should not be lowered to 16 because of lack of knowledge, political socialization, and they can act impulsively. From my point of view, I would not understand any part of politics unless I took the Government and Politics course. Without having the precious knowledge on the way the United States Government actually works I could have made careless decisions. Since it is not a mandated course, many will not understand the way the government functions. Political socialization is also a huge part. Many young adults and teenagers only side with one party based on friends, social media (which can be fake), and parents. They do not have enough sources at this age that they are aware to make their own unbiased opinions. Lastly, they can act impulsively based on rumors and lies that they do not have the interest in digging deeper. Many people have told me stories that seem plausible, but end up being made up. Many people do not take the time to do research on a topic before running to conclusions. Lack of knowledge, impulsivity, and political socialization are just a few of the many reasons the voting age shouldn’t be lowered.
Although there are many reasons why the voting age shouldn’t be lowered, many teens of the age of 16 and 17 want to share their input because the decisions of older people affect them as well. Some of these people pay taxes when working or have their education tampered with. They should be represented because things such as cell phone bans in schools, gun laws, etc. affect them just as much. While this is true, many teens may act rash because they do not like something even if it is based on facts and could be best for them. Also, they may only look at one issue that affects them a base their whole vote of that without looking at what else could affect them with that vote. The sentence above shows how they can act rash. Also younger people can more easily be manipulated by others because they are still developing and may not be able to form their own opinion. Even though there are some reasons for this change, there are too many cons to out way the pros.
