NYC to Lower Voting Age to 16?

I think this sounds like a great idea! We should push for it here in Mississippi, too. While we're at it, let's work on getting the drinking age back to 18 where it should be as well, instead of encouraging college students to sneak around and binge drink. They're old enough to go to war, they're old enough to legally drinkówhether they're on the military base or not.

BTW, what's the legality of lowering the voting age? Can cities/states do this? Maybe if you do, you lose the chance of getting pork from the feds. <grin>

Interesting news indeed, Donna.

Here's an old post from a yahoo message board (long since dead) that I was on. She is a school teacher in Germany and active in the SPD Party politics (Socialist Part of Germany) -- but even by US standards she wouldn't be FAR Left "Battle of Seattle" type. Though as the name suggests, she is all for "mixed economy" social benefits.

Incidentally, I started the thread by asking a question that on the surface would be HIGHLY repulsive - especially to Americans. I only did so to remind us all of a moral lesson. My question was "If we say some people are too stupid to vote, then shouldn't we accept with open arms the notion that only those with doctorates should have the right to vote? Just a thought"

The German lady responded as such:

We had a similar discussion here when the law was passed that youngsters at the age of 16 are allowed to vote for local councils (not BE elected, though).

Many said that they were too young, too inexperienced. However, I have found out that they took their vote much more seriously than many adults. In school they were prepared for their first election, they worked through the different agandas of the different parties and many still said they felt that they were not able to give a responisble vote and thus abstained. This is much more than what I have seen from many adults.

And yes, sometimes I feel frustrated about how public opinion can be shifted by little things. The fact that less and less people take the time to read good newspapers and that information has deteriorated to infotainment on TV is playing a big part in weird electoral results.

BTW, what's the legality of lowering the voting age? Can cities/states do this?

I'm not a lawyer, but I think states can. The constitution only prohibits states from denying the right to vote based on race, sex or religion, and it prohibits poll taxes. The XXVI amendment states that no citizen who is at least 18 years old can be denied the right to vote based on age, but it doesn't say younger citizens cannot vote.

Cities could lower the voting age with enabling legislation from the state.

What a wonderful idea. I'd love it if we could adopt that practice here.


Cheers,

TH

We can't get the people who are registered now to vote! Now they're saying that if we just lower the age, all those 16 year olds are raring to vote?

Uh... yeah. I'm not following the logic there.