by
Eric W.
Voting Vortex
Issues: Voting Age Sixteen
The voting vortex:
Senators soon one of you will become the next President of the United States, yet seeing as
how this decision hasn’t yet been made I’ll address my letter to both of you. Currently the voting
system has seen many flaws. Most people, however, aren’t privy to one of the greatest cases
of misrepresentation ever. Under the current Constitution only people eighteen or older can
vote on Election Day, but what about people who are even younger then that. It is possible for
a sixteen year old to go out and get a job, and still have his wages taxed. This same sixteen
year old can’t even vote on who is sent into office to enact these taxes. One of the founding
principles of this nation was no taxation without representation, yet we have the same problem
occurring with our youth today. When the voting age was lowered to eighteen it was a step ithe
right direction, but it just wasn’t enough to cover the rights of all working Americans. Also,
these same sixteen year olds now have the ability to get their driver’s license, but with all the
talk of passing legislation to limit a teen’s driving ability every new driver is on edge trying to
figure out all the weird restrictions that have been placed upon them without their consent.
These sixteen year olds are feeling the impact of government in their lives more than any other
generation has before and yet they still haven’t received a way to openly participate in our
government. Why should we make sixteen year olds wait two more years to receive the right
they should have now? When every politician references the youth of America does that
exclude law aiding 16 year olds? Apparently for now it does, but this can change and the youth
of America can finally have the right they deserve to cast a ballot on Election Day.