March 23, 1971, on this day Congress passed the 26th amendment, allowing citizens of age 18 or older to vote. This amendment was passed because at age 18, people were able to go to Vietnam and fight in a war, but not have the ability to vote. At age 16, people gain the rights to  drive a car, get a full time job, drop out of school, and even live alone and get married with parental permission. Also, many 16 year olds are finished or nearly finished emotionally and physically maturing. As well as that, some 16 year olds are initiated in political issues and news, at least the same amount of most 18 year olds. Due to this, Congress should lower the voting age once again, this time to 16 years of age.

One reason that the voting age should be lowered to 16 is that at that age, citizens gain many other rights. For example, people at 16 are usually in 11th grade, or juniors in high school, which gives them the opportunity to take driver’s ed. 16 year olds are therefore old enough to get a driver’s permit. They can also legally apply for their own full time job. A 16 year old can legally live on their own, so long as their legal guardian agrees. According to the US Bureau of  Labor Statistics (2016), the percentage of younger men in the workforce or searching for jobs is 62.4%, and 57.6% for females.

Another reason why the voting age should be lowered to 16 is because at age 16 a person is nearly finished maturing physically and emotionally. The worldwide rate for puberty in men lasts from ages 12-16, 10-14 in females. At age 16 you are finished or almost finished with puberty, most of the time. This means that the average person at this age is as physically & mentally stable as a person of 18 years of age or above. The most important reason why 16 year olds should be allowed to vote, is because they are just as initiated in choosing our next leader as people 18 years old and above. Many adults who don’t want to lower the voting age argue that people of ages 17 and younger are less initiated in the news of the election than they are, this is very incorrect. 16 year olds are in 11th grade, in most high schools they offer classes that teach current events and politics, if a student does not enroll in one of those classes they also have mandatory social studies classes. I am age 14 and our social studies class has had many discussions about the election and everybody in the room, who watches the news or not had a say in the discussions. An article on fairvote.org states that, “...reasearch shows that 17 and 18 year olds are as informed and engaged as older-voters in political issues.”

In conclusion, we should lower the voting age to age 16 because of the other privileges gained at 16, the maturity of 16 year olds, and because how initiated people at age 16 are in politics. The 26th amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, because people can join the army and die but still not be able to vote. It is time that we realize how many responsibilities 16 year olds already carry, they can have a perspective about who will be a better president. Many older voters are biased against 16 year olds, they think that they will exploit voting power if they can vote, but they can’t determine that because many older people are uninitiated in politics as well, and vote for somebody based on one fact that they hear.