A proposed amendment to California’s Constitution would give teenagers the right to vote in state elections, according to an Associated Press article.
The amendment would give 16-year-olds a half-vote and 14-year-olds a quarter-vote. One of the amendment’s founders, Sen. John Vasconcellos, said the Internet, cell phones, television and a diverse society make modern teenagers more informed than previous generations.
| The issue: A proposed amendment in California would give minors fractions of votes in the state elections. |
Most at that age are just beginning to learn about politics. They would not be able to make wise, informed decisions. Just because information is readily available from the Internet and other news sources does not mean that information is reliable.
While the amendment may get younger people more involved in the political process, 14 and 16 is too young for people to vote. At the age of 14, teenagers would not even be able to drive themselves to the polls.
Generally, kids vote how their parents do before they investigate politics for themselves, and so it’s likely the amendment would merely be adding fractions to the votes of parents.
Between the ages of 14 and 18, people change and mature quite a bit. At 18, a person is better capable of making well-thought-out decisions than he or she would at age 14.
A smarter way to get kids accustomed to the democratic process is the KidsVote program, in which children accompany their parents to the polls and cast mock ballots, which are tabulated separately. The children get the experience of voting and can see how their votes match up against the adult votes.
Fractions of votes are insulting, and would probably turn young people off of voting. They won’t see themselves as making a difference with just half a vote. It’s silly to quantify someone’s worth like that.
In most cases, with age comes wisdom. To grant the right to vote to those who have not had the chance to gain wisdom will not help them or California.
