Tulsa World: Why Can't We Decide?

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Why Can’t We Decide?

By Lauren Elliot/NIE Blogger
Published: 8/26/2008 11:52 AM
Last Modified: 8/26/2008 1:56 PM

A person must be 18 years old to vote in elections. The age requirement of 18, however, is unnecessary.

When a person becomes 18, they turn into an adult. But, all people of all ages are US citizens. Younger people have opinions, too. Children also want to decide who is leading their country. It shouldn’t be all up to the adults to decide everything for us. We are American citizens and deserve a say in politics.

I understand adults think that kids are too irresponsible enough to vote. It would be possible, however, that parents could determine whether their children were responsible enough to vote, and if they believed them to be responsible, let them do so.

Children who are mature (twelve and older) deserve to vote. We should have more opportunities in this country. For some children, it’s always been their dream to vote, and I say we need to follow their dreams.

There’s always another side to an argument. Some people disagree that children can vote, because they are too young and don’t understand politics. I disagree. We have been educated about politics and government in school. If we’re responsible US citizens and are educated, why can’t we vote? What’s keeping us from voting? I don’t see any other explanations on why children can’t vote.

We “all” need to decide on our leaders as a country. Adults may think we’re “only kids,” but we’re much more than that. We can make a difference in our country and most likely in the entire world. We are all one country unites, so why can’t we all vote together? By Lauren Elliot/NIE Blogger

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