The 2020 election is a little over a year away.
Already, we have seen dozens of presidential candidates say how they plan to run the United States if elected.
Along the fringes, a controversial topic has emerged related to our elections: whether minors, ages 16 and 17, should be able to vote.
Voting is an important right that helps decide the future of the United sStates.
With this being said, I don’t think minors should be allowed to vote.
This is because minors are too easily influenced.
If minors are allowed to vote, they might vote for the wrong reasons, whether it be because of their parents, their friends or because of social media.
Some parents have open political views and their children see this.
Minors are not their parents and the majority of the time only comment on politics they hear their parents say or show support toward.
Minors are vulnerable at a young age and their brains are still forming and their opinions are easily manipulated.
They interact every day with many people, other children and adults included.
With this being said, some minors might not take voting as serious as it is.
The counter argument is that people who are voting now are the ones affecting their future.
So some young people believe they should have a say in who gets elected.
However, at age 16, their brains are not fully developed.
According to research, this doesn’t happen until people reach their mid-20s.
At 16, kids are transitioning and figuring out who they are and what they want to do in life.
If the voting age is lowered, we will have many 16-year-olds voting without full knowledge of what they are voting for.
They might vote for someone because their friends tell them that the person that they are choosing will be a good president.
Social media also play a role in this.
Even now we see just how influential social media can be.
Our current president starts fights on the internet with celebrities and other politicians.
One person can share her opinion and get more than half of the people who see it to convince themselves that they too share the same opinion because they see a lot of other people agreeing with the first opinion.
Manipulation.
In fact, I believe most 18-year old people are not necessarily ready to vote, either.
I feel as though there should be an exam or some sort of tool to help determine whether a person has enough knowledge and maturity to vote based on only their thoughts and not those of others.
