Proposal would allow DC 16-year-olds to vote for president in 2016

[rangerrebew]

Proposal would allow DC 16-year-olds to vote for president in 2016
It's not uncommon to hear about low voter turnout in some elections. But some lawmakers believe getting students involved at a young age and educating them on the issues will help those numbers.
By: fox5dc.com staff

Posted:Nov 04 2015 06:33AM EST

Updated:Nov 04 2015 11:26PM EST
 

WASHINGTON - When Americans go to the polls to vote in 2016, there's a chance that 16-year-olds in Washington, D.C. could also be casting their ballots. On Tuesday, three D.C. City Council members proposed lowering the federal voting age in D.C. from 18 to 16.
Ward 6 Council member Charles Allan is the chief author behind the Youth Vote Amendment Act of 2015. He said Tuesday that there's nothing in the 26th Amendment that forbids younger Americans from voting, and that the Constitution only ensures that those 18 or older have the right to vote.
 
Council members David Grosso and Brianne Nadeau co-introduced the legislation. Click here to read it.
 
Advocates hope the idea would encourage change in civic involvement in the District, where just 38 percent of registered voters turned out for the city's last mayoral election.

If the legislation passes, D.C. wouldn't be the first to lower the voting age. In Tacoma Park, Md., the minimum age to vote in municipal elections is 16.

http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/44236066-story

[Fishrrman]

Spare us.

How many 16-year olds know much of anything at all?

And this is meant to include -yourselves-, as well.

At age 16 I was lucky to make it to school and back (on foot) each day...

[raml]

I don't even think 18 yr olds are really qualified. I personally don't believe anyone who hasn't paid taxes for at least a year should qualify to vote. College these days doesn't even prepare a student how to think for themselves instead they are just trying to indoctrinate them into liberal thinking and most students fall for it.

[jmyrlefuller]

Spare us.

How many 16-year olds know much of anything at all?

And this is meant to include -yourselves-, as well.

At age 16 I was lucky to make it to school and back (on foot) each day...

I knew enough about politics at the time to vote responsibly, but I was not a typical case by any stretch of the imagination. My views have certainly matured since then.

We all know why they want to expand the vote—1) to speed up the timetable, so that the wave of those born to foreigners gets into the voting pool two years sooner, and 2) to mine another source of easily duped voters.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Why have any age requirement at all? 

[musiclady]

I teach at the University level and I can guarantee you that this year's crop of Freshmen (18) contain a lot of babies.  The immaturity level of teenagers is going down precipitously, and most of them couldn't cast a rational vote if you paid them.

Lowering the age to 16 is ludicrous.  Absolutely insane.

[musiclady]

I knew enough about politics at the time to vote responsibly, but I was not a typical case by any stretch of the imagination. My views have certainly matured since then.

We all know why they want to expand the vote—1) to speed up the timetable, so that the wave of those born to foreigners gets into the voting pool two years sooner, and 2) to mine another source of easily duped voters.

I'm not really sure if the average 16 year old would want to vote for Hillary, but all the Dems need to do is bribe them with more free phones, and I'm sure they'd do it.