Can 18-year-olds wisely select the best qualified government officials?
Much controversy has arisen in the past few years over this topic. Already, two states, Georgia and Kentucky, have given these young people the right to vote. Other states are considering the change.
When the question of lowering the voting age was presented to Heights students, they expressed the following options:
BELIEVING that high school students know more than adults about politics, Bob Bain, 11B-156, thinks that 18-year-olds should have the right to vote.
Karen Eckstein, 12B-118, opposed him saying, "Kids don't know enough, nor do they have the interest in politics to make an accurate vote."
Donna Robbins, 12B-211, commented, "Either the draft should be raised or the voting age lowered."
EXPLAINING this attitude, Linda Greene, 12B-232, continued, "If 18-year-olds are asked to die for their country, it is only fair that they have a voice in selecting its government."
Still another point was raised by Ross Jacobs, 11B-216. "The vote of an 18-year-old expresses a general interest in politics and can be more effective than that of an older person who votes simply because it is the thing to do."
Believing that eighteen is not old enough to vote, Lillian Yeager, 12B-326, stated, "At 18 kids are ruled too much by emotions."