Should 14 Year olds be able to vote?

[Dreadsox]

I belive this is interesting...but we can;t even count one vote one person.

There is a proposal to allow fourteen year olds to vote and count it as 1/4th a vote.

16 year olds would count as a 1/2 a vote.

What do you think?

 

[melon]

It's ridiculous. Either count them as one vote or not at all.

Melon

 

[~*Buffalo*~]

It's ridiculous. Either count them as one vote or not at all.

Melon

Definitely. What kind of message would that send to teenagers? For so long, we haven't cared what you think, and now that someone decides you should be able to vote, your opinions don't count as much as adults? It's crazy.

If this is coming out of America, perhaps a greater effort should be made first to educate the public about their democratic right to vote. I can't imagine many 14-year-olds are going to vote if they don't have to and their vote only counts for 1/4 anyway.

 

[anitram]

Ridiculous.

I remember once applying for a job with a world renowned researcher. I told him that I really wanted some experience in his laboratory and that I'd be willing to work for half the pay (it was very generous to start with) just in order to get some experience. He turned to me and said, "when I look at you, I don't see half a person, so why would I pay you half the salary?" I think it's the same principle.

 

[verte76]

It's ridiculous. It's either a vote or it's not.

 

[U2Kitten]

Only half a vote?? Then what happens if the chads are hanging??

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

is james madison behind this?

 

[BVS]

It should be a vote, a full vote and nothing less.

But the idea of 14 year olds voting scares me a little. Who here really had a grasp of politics at 14? Probably very few. Most would vote with their parents politics or who their favorite rock star mentioned. Also how would they get there, have their parents drive them to the voting booths?

The other thing is I think it starts a slippery slope of sorts. Will military service reduce it's age requirement, driver's license, etc.?

It's a scary thought.

But if 14 years olds were able to vote we'd probably have the first female president, all you would need is to find an attractive woman to put on the platform and 14 year old boys would flock to the voting booths...

 

[theSoulfulMofo]

What BVS said...

God, no don't let teenagers vote.... Teach and instill civil responsibility in kids... let them grow and mature a while... There is no substitute for time growing up.

When kids today learn their civil responsibility, then more likely as adults they would take the responsibilty to vote maturely... God knows, I needed some lessons in understanding civil responsibilities....

 

[nbcrusader]

But the idea of 14 year olds voting scares me a little.

We'd end up with Britney Spears in office.

 

[Popmartijn]

Or those folks from Jackass.

Then I wonder what will be left of the White House after 4 years of Steve O.

 

[melon]

We'd end up with Britney Spears in office.

Of course, the 18+ crowd elected Arnold Swartzenegger.

"Age Ain't Nothing But a Number"

Melon

 

[Kieran McConville]

How about getting people in general to goddamn vote before worrying about teenagers?

I mean, it's not like that many people actually vote at all, is it? I'm very hazy on the figures, but it's got to be less than 40%, right?

 

[Kieran McConville]

How could they elect Britney Spears if Britney Spears wasn't standing for election? This part confuses me.

 

[Ft. Worth Frog]

No way should they vote at all. We have a hard enough time getting adults to vote much less worry about teenagers. Can you imagine what campaign commercials would be like having to pander to adults and teenagers? What's sad is that some of the nations highest voting turnout came in the latter 19th century when such notables like Garfield, Hayes, and Artur became president. There was no mass media like we have today and people would stand outside for hours to hear speeches on politics and campaigns. Now we need a quick edited soundbite and no more.

 

[Mullen-Girl]

I don't think they should be allowed to vote because first of all, they're not old enough to understand all the issues, they're not mature enough yet.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Ignoring the fact most of the electorate don't know the issues at any given time the principle of voting at 18 is important, if you know your politics at 14 then you have had 4 years to develop a context for the politics of the day and will make a more informed decision, those that were jerks when they were 14 may have developed a slight understanding of issues. Basically the problem boils down to this, citizens are those that contribute to the process through taxes, engaging the buerocracy etc., most 14 year olds do not do this and hence do not have a right to go to the polls. In addition to this imagine the campaigns that would result, its bad enough when politicians try to appeal to 20-somethings, imagine the teen target campaign attempts (Unnecessary futurama bit: Richard Nixons head singing "Remember what the doormouse said, feed your head!, im meeting you half-way you damn hippies" for his 3001 presidential campaign)

 

[Klaus]

What do you think about limiting the max. age where you are still allowed to vote?

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

Goodie........maybe 14 year olds could go do jury duty intstead on me now!

 

[nbcrusader]

What do you think about limiting the max. age where you are still allowed to vote?

Like social security, this would be a "no touch" matter.

 

[BAW]

Bad idea...the 1/4 and 1/2 vote is silly. I know there are some very mature, clear thinking 14 year olds out there but its a bit too young to be given the right to vote.

My son thought Jesse Ventura would make a great president when he was 14

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

wrong post...

 

[fah]

I don't have a problem with 16 year olds voting. If everyone who voted had to pass a maturity/intelligence test prior to voting I suspect there would be a lot less registered 'adult' voters.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Means tested right to vote, I think that will pleae the ACLU

 

[IWasBored]

so...is this MTV's doing? the bands that they can get to play "rock the vote"-type shows are the kinds of groups targeted at younger kids, therefore let's get the younger kids to vote? cos that's about as stupid as the 1/4 and 1/2 votes. worry about getting the people who are legal voting age to the polls if you want to attract more votes, not bringing in kids. when i was 14 i thought i had concrete enough political stances, but thinking about it now, that would have been scary. the idea of my sister, who will be 18 in time for the next election, being able to vote scares me. i know right now she and i pretty much agree, but i wouldn't be surprised if kayne west or some other rapper said "vote bush" and suddenly she changed her mind.

 

[Kieran McConville]

All hail the mighty sun god Rah.

 

[theSoulfulMofo]

Another thought: How would you like your teenage kids voting on issues like sex education and birth control?