Why Do 18-20-Year-Olds Have The Right To Vote?

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In 1971, the United States made the 26th Amendment. This amendment stated that 18-20-year- olds have the right to vote. They made this amendment because the U.S. was sending 18-year- olds to Vietnam fight at the war. So why would they not get the right to vote? Men and women are risking their lives for our country, and they don’t even get to vote for who leads it. Funny right? Well it’s the same for 16 and 17-year-olds now. They have many responsibilities in our nation, and one of them should be voting. Turning 16-years-old marks a symbolic point in a person’s life. You take on a whole new level of freedom. The freedom that every teenager looks forward to is that they can start driving. A teen can start working as many hours as he or she would like to. At 16 you pay taxes. This is where it doesn’t make sense why 16 and 17-year-olds can’t vote. If they are paying taxes, they should have a say to whom deals with their money. According to the IRS, teens may not have a stable job, but you still have to pay with the money you work for. Another problem with the voting age is that even if you do turn 18, some teens can’t vote depending on when their birthday is. If you turn 18 right after a presidential election, you have to wait four more years. That means you won't be able …show more content…
Yes, not all teens will. But do all adults know things about politics? Or do all adults use the right they have to vote? Well the answer to that is no. In 2012 218,959,000 people are allowed to vote. Only 126,144,000 of the people voted (Statistic Brain). That’s only 57.5% of Americans that voted. A little more than half of Americans voted. This shows that not even the adults take responsibility to vote. So why do the adults say teens won’t? If teens see their parents not voting, why would they. So I think that the rest of the 42.5% of Americans should vote before they say that 16 and 17-year-olds aren't responsible enough to
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