This is an excerpt of a column I wrote this week for Deadline Detroit.
By Chad Selweski
One of the youngest state senators in Lansing is proposing that Michigan become the first state in the nation to lower its voting age to 16.
State Sen. David Knezek, 31, argues that the newfound political activism of teenagers, sparked by the students who survived the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., demonstrates that teens at age 16 and 17 have enough savvy to intelligently fill out a ballot.
Let the generational fight begin.
Many aging, cynical voters certainly would cringe at the thought of voting rights extended to immature “slackers” living in their childhood bedrooms with their eyes focused nonstop on their smartphones, or spending hours playing video games.
Many 16-year-olds could vote from an informed standpoint; perhaps many more could not. Then again, most 18-year-olds who enjoy a rightful place at the ballot box have little interest in politics or current events. Voter turnout among young Millennials – those ages 18-24 — is consistently poor, and it’s hard to imagine that most of 16- and 187-year-olds would take advantage of newly acquired voting eligibility.
Of course, many adults also fail to set a shining example of civic participation or political knowledge.
“Young people have earned and deserve a voice in our political process,” says Knezek, D-Dearborn Heights, in a statement. “As we’ve seen across the country, a diverse coalition of students have set aside partisan politics in an effort to bring about positive change within our political system. … In a society that is deeply fractured by ignorance and close-mindedness toward others, their voices deserve a vote.”
The Parkland kids have withstood brutal attacks on social media and earned unending praise for their articulate advocacy of gun control and school safety. Still, are they advocating single-issue voting? Without the experiences that come with adulthood, do 16-year-olds understand basic issues such as the economy, the job market, taxes or healthcare?
There’s thin precedent for a voting age of 16. It exists in several Latin American countries and a few other places. In the U.S., 16-year-olds can participate in local elections in a few Maryland communities near Washington, D.C.
Continue reading here.
Really dont agree on this, 16 year olds tend to be pretty close-minded when it comes to politics and they dont even understand themselves and what they want to do with their lives. all they will do is parrot the propoganda pumped out by the rich on facebook and through the 24/hour news outlets.