Voting Age

Pro 1: 16-year-olds are just as knowledgeable about civics and have the same ability to make good voting choices as older voters.

A study in theAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science found “on measures of civic knowledge, political skills, political efficacy, and tolerance, 16-year-olds, on average, are obtaining scores similar to those of adults…. Adolescents in this age range are developmentally ready to vote.” [7]

Scientists believe that “cold cognition” skills, those used to make the kind of informed, well-thought-out choices needed in voting, are solidly established in 16-year-olds.[8]

Austria lowered the voting age to 16 in 2007. According to Markus Wagner, social sciences professor at the University of Vienna, and his coauthors, studies of elections after the Austrian voting age was lowered show “the quality of these [younger] citizens’ choices is similar to that of older voters, so they do cast votes in ways that enable their interests to be represented equally well.”[9]

Pro 2: Lowering the voting age to 16 increases voter turnout and develops lifelong voting habits.

The United States has one of the lowest voter turnout rates among developed countries. A person who votes in one election has a 13% greater probability of voting in a future election. Researchers say that people who participate in elections when they first reach voting age are likely to develop the habit of voting, and those who don’t are more likely to remain nonvoters. [18][19][20][21]

Sixteen-year-olds are learning about government and civics in high school, and the structured environment would lead to higher turnout among 16- and 17-year-olds as teachers and parents help them overcome typical obstacles for first-time voters, such as the registration process and finding their polling places. [9][22][23]

By contrast, many 18-year-olds are in a time of transition, making them less likely to participate in elections. [21][23]

Involving young people in voting can also have a “trickle up” effect that mobilizes their parents and other adults in their households to vote, increasing the overall voter turnout rate. Turnout among 16- and 17-year-olds in Takoma Park, Maryland, the first U.S. municipality to lower the voting age for local elections, was double that of eligible voters 18 and older.[24][25][26]

Pro 3: At age 16, people should have a voice in the laws that affect their lives and a stake in the future of their country.

A U.S. Senate report cited student activism and protests as reasons for lowering the voting age to 18 in the 1970s during the Vietnam War: “We must channel these energies into our political system and give young people the real opportunity to influence our society in a peaceful and constructive manner.”[33]

Students today live under threats to their futures, such as school shootings and climate change, and they deserve to have influence over their elected officials beyond the protests they’ve organized. [34]

Sofie Whitney, a survivor of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, says, “If 16-year-old students are old enough to be affected by the laws, and realize that there is a problem, then they should have the power to help change it.” [35]

The age of 16 is when people’s relationship with the law changes as they often start driving, working, and paying taxes. Further, in most states, 16-year-olds can be emancipated from their parents and live independently. [36][37][38][49]