Voting age 16 structure

this is my structure for my video essay, I am doing it on why the voting
age should be 16.

Intro- there are no wrong votes.

In a democracy, we all need to realize that you can’t have a wrong vote these are just
people’s opinions, It can be easy to feel baffled by the way other people vote, even if we
know them very well. Many people believe that there are voters who are bad voters and
they don’t know how to

vote, I don’t think it’s fair people should do that just because they are disagreeing.

I think that lowering the voting age is could and I think that young people will always vote
intelligently, especially since not everyone can agree on what that means. 

But the same can be said for adults. Why are young people held up to a higher standard
then everyone else?

Par 1- 16 yr olds have adult responsibilities but are denied the same
rights.

People under 18 are contributing and active members of
society. Millions of us are employed and volunteer in our
communities Many people under 18 also have “adult”
responsibilities – such as being the primary caregiver for
an ailing family member, running a business and making
substantial financial contributes to our households.

Par 2- though some 16-year-olds are not mature enough to participate in
elections most of them are just as knowledgeable about civics and have
the same ability to make good voting choices as older voters.

A study in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science found that
"On measures of civic knowledge, political skills, political efficacy, and tolerance, 16-year-olds,
on average, are obtaining scores similar to those of adults… which means in this age range most
of them are smart enough and ready to vote." 

Austria lowered the voting age to 16 in 2007. According to Markus Wagner, social sciences
professor at the University of Vienna, et al., studies of subsequent elections show "the quality
of these (younger) citizens choices is similar to that of older voters, so they do cast votes in
ways that enable their interests to be represented equally well."

Par 3-16-year-olds are told that they need to start to think about their
futures, but they still don’t have a say in lots of important decisions that
will affect them later on in life.

At 16 some kids have been told to get a job to start thinking about their futures
but there are also other things that they need to worry about like who they’re
prime minister is going to be which could possibly one day be a prime minister
for their kids… 

Also things like changing the country flag, or changing the law, that is going to be
their future that they aren’t allowed to vote for,  

Conclusion: lowering the voting age will help increase voter turnout.

Voting is a habitual act – people who vote in one election are more likely to

vote in the next.  Lowering the voting age will establish new voters when people

are less likely to be moving as a result of attending college or leaving their

families. People under 18 tend to have stronger roots in their community, often

having lived in the same area for many years and established connections to their school, family and friends, and other community groups. This gives us an awareness and appreciation of local issues. As we are less likely to live away from home, we don’t have to deal with unclear residency laws or absentee ballots that can discourage college students or other new voters. Because of the habitual nature of voting, encouraging new voters at a younger age will increase voter turnout as the population gets older. Young people who vote also influence the voter turnout of their parents. In a study of the Kids Voting program (where people under 18 were allowed to cast votes in a mock election), parents who had children voting in the program were more likely to vote in the actual election.