Oregon lawmakers seek to lower voting age in state to 16

[Cow Poke]

Oregon lawmakers seek to lower voting age in state to 16, so teens can ‘protect their future’


Yeah, just what we need!

Teens are “begging us to take action to protect their future," she added. OPB reported that she referenced the student activists from Parkland, Florida, who launched the “Never Again” movement in the wake of the 2018 mass shooting at their high school.

Several Oregon student activists spoke at the press conference about why they deserved the right to vote before age 18.

"We need to be able to take our work to the ballot and protect the policies we’re working so hard to pass,” South Salem High School senior Maria Torres said.

Pressing issues affecting young people have brought the voting age down before. It used to be 21 before the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, lowered it to 18. The amendment was fueled in part by teenagers facing the draft for the Vietnam War, which had become increasingly unpopular.

Congress had lowered the voting age in 1970 for state and federal offices, but Oregon objected to a lower minimum age being foisted on its state elections. It insisted the law was unconstitutional and won in the U.S. Supreme Court. This led to the successful push for the 26th amendment.

[seer]

Oregon lawmakers seek to lower voting age in state to 16, so teens can ‘protect their future’

More idiots who probably don't even know who the Vice President is.

[firstfloor]

I agree. They should also take the right to vote away from over 60’s.

[seer]

I agree. They should also take the right to vote away from over 60’s.

Who do you think would do better on a Civics test? Most 16 year olds are clueless...

[firstfloor]

Who do you think would do better on a Civics test? Most 16 year olds are clueless...

That’s a good reason to be very serious about their education and upbringing.

[seer]

That’s a good reason to be very serious about their education and upbringing.

Not when leftists are largely in charge of education.

[firstfloor]

Not when leftists are largely in charge of education.

You need good parenting and good teachers generated by positive feedback in the system to drive improvement over time. A virtuous cycle in fact. This function of a society is not linear and it is why college and university students are encouraged to do duty in the education system. It cannot be done on the cheap. An investment in a child made now may not pay back for another 20 years. Does your government think ahead that far?

[mossrose]

I agree. They should also take the right to vote away from over 60’s.

At least we don't eat Tide pods on a dare.

millenials.jpg

[Starlight]

I think it's obviously a sensible move, but relatively unimportant. (The number of 16 & 17 year olds as a fraction of all voters will be tiny, their votes will be distributed among candidates anyway, so its not as if letting them vote is going to greatly change electoral outcomes)

A much more important issue is voting system. US states urgently need to abandon plurality voting, as its one of the worst voting systems ever invented and locks in the 2-party system, shuts out independents, and even in primaries forces people into voting for one of the 'top 2' candidates rather than voting for people they actually want to win. Good voting systems US states could easily adopt include Ranked Choice and STAR. Washington state would be a good state to lead the way in implementing these as unlike Maine (which has just implemented Ranked Choice) its big enough and influential enough among liberal thought-leader states to have a flow-on effect and make serious national news.

[Starlight]

More idiots who probably don't even know who the Vice President is.

Lowering the voting age is likely to increase civic knowledge among young people. If young people now know they are going to cast a vote, they may be inspired to research the issues on their phones, talk to and learn from their friends and parents about issues, and read news articles about politics and civics.

Whereas if they can't vote they have no incentive to go out of their way to acquire knowledge since they would know they can't use that knowledge. When I was 11, a teacher of mine at school was horrified to learn that most of the class didn't understand the nuances of road rules regarding who was at fault in a car accident between two cars in particular circumstances... but, I look back on that and realize the teacher was silly for expecting young people who obviously didn't drive would have any interest in or knowledge of a topic that simply didn't apply to them. The same thing applies to politics... your disgust at young people not knowing civics is absurd if at the same time you are wanting to deny them the right to vote which is the very reason that they would want to learn civics. Otherwise you are criticizing them for lack of knowledge in a field that doesn't apply to them.

So one of my major reasons for wanting to see the voting age reduced in general is because I think it will increase interest in learning about civics and politics among young people and increase their knowledge of those subjects. I don't think it will have any major effects on electoral outcomes, but what it will do is increase their level of knowledge and get them into the habit of learning and talking about issues and get them into the habit of voting.

This is why, I have argued in other threads, that there shouldn't actually be any minimum voting age (besides ability to read the ballot and tick appropriate boxes), because letting younger people vote isn't going to change electoral outcomes (initially presumably most of them will just vote for what their parents tell them, which will even out as some will have Republican parents and some Democratic parents) but what it will do is start teaching them about what the voting process is, get them asking questions about what the different parties stand for, etc. So if you are genuinely concerned about young people's lack of knowledge about politics and civics (as I am) the obvious solution is to get them involved in the political process which in turn will cause them to learn more information.

[seer]

Lowering the voting age is likely to increase civic knowledge among young people. If young people now know they are going to cast a vote, they may be inspired to research the issues on their phones, talk to and learn from their friends and parents about issues, and read news articles about politics and civics.

Whereas if they can't vote they have no incentive to go out of their way to acquire knowledge since they would know they can't use that knowledge.

Nonsense, most people under 45 are clueless, and they can vote...

Although many Americans didn't know their country's history, some age groups were more informed than others. People aged 65 and older scored the best, with 74 percent answering at least 6 out of 10 questions correctly. People aged 45 and younger, however, did not do as well. Only 19 percent passed the exam, with 81 percent earning a score of 59 percent or lower.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics...tizenship-test

[Starlight]

Nonsense, most people under 45 are clueless, and they can vote...

Although many Americans didn't know their country's history, some age groups were more informed than others. People aged 65 and older scored the best, with 74 percent answering at least 6 out of 10 questions correctly. People aged 45 and younger, however, did not do as well. Only 19 percent passed the exam, with 81 percent earning a score of 59 percent or lower.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics...tizenship-test

Out of personal amusement I took a few practice tests.

I got 58/60. Guess I'm automatically a US citizen now?

[Cow Poke]

Out of personal amusement I took a few practice tests.

I got 58/60. Guess I'm automatically a US citizen now?

Next, you'll be applying for a gun license.

[seer]

Out of personal amusement I took a few practice tests.

I got 58/60. Guess I'm automatically a US citizen now?

No, it means you are informed, unlike a lot of young people in this country. Why would we want uniformed people voting?

[mossrose]

No, it means you are informed, unlike a lot of young people in this country. Why would we want uniformed people voting?

What's wrong with uniforms?