Reading several things today... made me wonder:
If we have a minimum age to vote, why not have a maximum age to vote?
I'm for maximum enfranchisement. I can't get behind you here at all. I do think that we should make the voting age 16 and incorporate voting into high school civics. I think the whole process would light a fire in some kids hearts. I think it would encourage greater civic involvement from young people. Vote 16!!!
Why sixteen, out of curiosity? Just for the sake of argument. What's your position as to moving civic duty back? The argument for moving it from 21 to 18 was that 18 was the draft age and if you could be conscripted to die for your country you were entitled to steer that country's destiny.
16 sounds about right to me. It's when you're entrusted to drive, which is probably the biggest responsibility most of us exercise in an average day (save for like airline pilots and care providers). I feel like that makes you a participant in society at large. Also, I think when you're 18 you start getting slapped in the face with public policy, so it would be nice to have a small runway to try to get engaged beforehand.
I think the opportunity to combine participation in elections with high school civics classes is pretty compelling. In some schools it won't amount to much, in others it would become a major preoccupation. I think vote 16 would cause a significant increase in government and politics participation by young people. The real concerns and problems of youth are mostly ignored while at the same time protecting them guides a significant portion of legislation and regulation (for the children!) There is much talk in today's political arena (maybe most this talk happens a great deal more in liberal places like the Pacific NW) about giving voices to marginalized groups. I think young people are significantly marginalized. I know I never felt more marginalized than I did when I was 16 and often for good reason. My actions and motivations were closely scrutinized, there were few public places I wanted to be that I was allowed to be without suspicion (especially after dark). I think if kids voted there is a greater chance politicians would feel greater accountability about providing desirable public goods that young people wanted. I think that there would be more scrutiny of how police interact with young people before it comes down to a cop ust shot a kid. As a lobbying force they could become quite scary. They spend 5 days a week together, have plenty of free time and modern technology can easily connect a network of schools to mobilize It is getting surprisingly and pleasently busy at the shop right now so I'll leave off here. I might have a few more thoughts but that's the gist of my thoughts.
To be clear, I'm not opposed to the idea, just curious as to the justification. Where I grew up you could get a driver's license at fifteen if you passed a state-accredited driver's education course. I would think if you let everyone take the civics test when they apply for a driver's license or ID card you'd get plenty of takers, particularly if you tied it into something useful like the ability to buy cigarettes or sign yourself out as absent. Being 18 in high school is badass and if you could test into that you'd win.
One other reason I like it is I think for many people eighteen is about the worst time you could try and wrangle people into participating in the electoral process. So many things in life are in flux at that age, who has time to go to the polls for the first time. Personally I was trying to get any girls attention, playing in bands, working full time, just starting and failing out of college, getting high a lot, going to the bar all the time. I had no bandwidth for something like a local election. I think if I had been somewhat forced to participate in High School I might have engaged in politics more readily. I would have been a total asshole but I think I would have been made more aware of political life. Because what's going on in the streets right now, engaging in political life might happen a little more readily for this generation but give it four years and the youth will probably be the youth again.
I would prefer national holiday on Election Day and state level mandated paid time off on state and local election days. All three levels should have mail-in voting as a guarantee with removal of electronic polling options. We should be making it easy to vote for everyone, not removing the right to vote from one group.
Well sure, the House at 25, then Senate at 30, so you can progress to president at 35. Probably most of us won't encounter those barriers, so the rental car thing is about it. I've been over 25 for a long time now, but I remember trying to rent between 21 and 25. Some companies would let you pay the crazy fee and others were like, nah, the price we would charge you just isn't worth it for anyone.
Conservatorship can often strip voting rights. If you are judged by the court to not be competent to manage your daily affairs, the court may also judge that you are not competent to vote. Here's the thing. When you're a kid, it's presumed that your parents are making most of your decisions for you. When you're an adult, it's presumed you're making your own decisions. If that is not the case, there are greater implications than the right to vote. And if you can handle everything else, you can vote.