 Hello and welcome back to teens on topic. I'm your host Cedric Hughes and today. I'm joined by three special guests I'm Ben Skinner. I'm sorry about she I'm Joseph Hendricks Today we'll be discussing the question. Should there be a change to the United States voting age? But first we look towards members of the community to see what they have to say Do you think that the voting age should be changed? Lower Below 18. Actually, I am Kind of Up and down about it I think that it maybe could be moved down to 16 because I know a lot of young people Who are very aware of what's going on and they understand that it's going to affect them as much or more than anybody else, but at the same time I think that there are a lot of teenagers who maybe aren't as Mature as others and they may not be Really ready to vote Although you could say that about any voter no matter how old they are. So I think it's kind of a I'm not really I'd have to say. I'm not really sure. I think I might lean towards Lowering it though. Do you think that the voting age should be lowered? I do not Thank you. Do you think that the voting age should be changed in any way? So voting age so when I think about it I think about older people that have been voting the same way for a long time because they're kind of caught up in their all the old ways Things have changed a lot. So now we're in a society where it's like very tech driven Access on our phones. These are so different. So voting age is currently what 18? so I Don't think anybody should be excluded, but I do also see that it's One of those things where people that are on Subsidized incomes by the government getting paid by all this stuff There's people that say that they shouldn't have a vote because it's it's bias Because well, you're getting paid over here. So you're directly affecting Based on your vote on my end. I don't think it should be changed I think 18 is a good a good age when you get out of high school now. You're available To be able to vote in my opinion. Do you think that the voting age should be lowered? I think that'd be great I think the young people Like to be engaged, but if they can't vote then it's a little bit difficult to keep them engaged So I'm all for it Those were some excellent opinions from members of the Davis community. So now we can look at us What do we think as kids who would be affected by a change in the voting age? You know one thing when we see these interviews out there Generally, they can be representative samples of what we might be thinking as a population However, I think one thing that's kind of interesting with this question is that with those interviews I didn't see any kids up there You know so if we are to say lower the voting age to 16 I would want to know what a kids opinion is So what do you guys think should the voting age be lowered raised or kept the same? So first off being 18? I'm not really a kid. I'm sorry, but I feel like yes We should lower it not raise it lower it and the reason for that is I feel like the main Criticism against doing that is just people saying oh kids aren't necessarily ready to vote They're not going to be educated. They're not going to take it seriously But as one woman said that's already happening no matter how old the voter is like age isn't really what? The issue is so I almost feel like talking about age is just a distractor from the actual issue of almost half of the country not voting regularly and I I think if we're talking about Electoral reform like that's a super serious conversation that needs to happen And like that's regardless of what age people are because some people are going to vote seriously at any age and some people aren't Zara, what do you think this kind of reminded me in ninth grade? We had our yearbook We basically did elections because that was the time the elections were going on and We did our own little mock elections And I was surprised to see at the end of the yearbook that I would have actually been happier what the outcomes of What we had voted as a school being just 7 to 9th graders and that was really interesting to see there was different Very different outcomes and I think that as much I think that voting age should be lowered a lot of adults say In my psychology class. They're always talking about how Kids are not their brains are not developed yet Your brains are not developed until you're in your late 20s And I I think that shouldn't matter if you're brilliant brain isn't developed because you still make those choices Emotionally these are just something that I think you as a teenager you will make choices still and it will be an emotional choice And it's something you gravitate to I was politically interested from a young age And I think that's I was I was excited to hear Obama was Elected that was super cool to me even though I didn't think yet that was a time for me to actually pick voting But I think the voting age should be lowered to least maybe 16 Joseph, what do you think? Yeah, I definitely agree what she said that you know No matter what age you are the stuff that you vote on affects you I mean, especially if you're a minority whether if you know a person of color or like You're a part of the LGBT community like that still affects you even when you're you know under 18 So I do think that it should be lowered to 16. I think that that's something that you bring up Joseph That's really interesting and that's that even if you're under 18 policies that are made at the national Local and then state level they still affect us, you know, so shouldn't we get a say in these measures? but From a different perspective one of the ideas that was brought up in those interviews Was that perhaps kids who are still living at home could be influenced? You know, it wouldn't be maybe you were I voting But it would be our parents voting by proxy. Is that something to be concerned about again? I feel like age isn't what the issue is there because I don't think very many people advocate for for saying that 22 year Olds who live with their parents shouldn't be able to vote right like that That's not a very common viewpoint as far as I can tell so people saying that that's a valid reason for a different group Kids to not be able to vote to me that doesn't really make sense We have to either say that this is a problem that people are living with their parents War with other people and voting therefore none of these people should be able to vote or to say that that's not something We're going to worry about so age isn't really in my mind what the key issue is sure those are do you think that? That should be a worry or a concern. I think personally that it shouldn't Age shouldn't be a concern because the fact especially even if you were a Kid who you know depends on your family members It I don't think that really swings too much of your decision because I know I have a friend who is very against their parents opinions there her parents are both Republicans and Voted for Trump and she just didn't agree with that Decision her parents made and so I think that was something that I just I saw very I always thought that kids were you know Would follow exactly what their parents would say but some kids Don't they have their own opinions? And so I think that's I don't think age should really matter on that part No, Joseph. What do you think? Yeah? I also think that there's a lot of other things that also influence You know even adults like you know the radio that you listen to the church that you go to the TV shows that you watch Like they all affect and some on some level Your views and something that is all right. You brought up a really interesting point about autonomy You know even though we might live under the same roof as our parents and even though You know who what family we're born into is a major decider of the way we view the world We by the age of 16 we start to gain autonomy and we start to see the world through our own eyes So you know we can start making our own decisions and to see things the way that we want to see them separate From outside influences so with that being said do you think it would be then fair to lower the voting age to? 16 to Recognize that autonomy yeah I mean what I think it's also important to recognize is that people like the influence that parents have on people does not and The second people leave the house right so I think the same thing could also be said for people who are 40 like I Would if I had to guess I would say the number one factor in determining what political party a person is part of is probably What political party their parents were a part of like there's a huge influence there so For a third time I don't think that age is is actually like what the underlying factor is behind this issue So yeah, I would have no problem lowering the voting age to 16 on account of that issue Okay, well, so when we do look at age I think that there is some issue that does arise with that because One of you know the mantras that we like to tell ourselves is you know, no taxation without representation You know, it's one of those great American sayings We see 16 year olds and 17 year olds 15 year olds even who are working and they're receiving a paycheck And some who are having to pay taxes out of that so is it fair that they are Being taxed without this representation. So is it an issue then? Yeah, I think it's an issue when anybody is being taxed or even Lives in a society in which they they take a significant role and are not able to be represented for instance Felons in states where felons cannot vote. They're not being equally represented people in Puerto Rico They cannot vote in in the the presidential election People in DC cannot vote in the presidential election, right? So I think anytime you have a group of people who are like significantly a Part of a society who are not being represented. That's a problem And I think that same thing applies for 16 year olds. I think most people would agree that there should be some Voting age. I don't think many people advocate for like newborn babies being able to being able to vote, right? So we agree that there should be some voting age. I just think that 18 is kind of a Too high for that right like 16 makes more sense Honestly below that even there are people like you said who are like who are working who have have jobs It's or even are just being involved in society in some way So I think those people should absolutely be able to vote. Yeah So going off of you know what you're talking about here is that there's other issues at play with our election process What could be done moving forward if not age then what and I recognize, you know This is getting a little away from what we talked about with members of the community But if age isn't a factor that we need to be looking at Or even if it is what else could be done on top of that How could we restructure our systems to ensure more fairness throughout our elections? I personally think a lot of what I Think with the Citizenship I think it's harder and harder for people to become a citizen of the United States And that is something that I think is a concern because I think if they a lot of people are desperate to and I think they have a very important say in our our government in our society and so I think if they were to also make it a little easier and Not be so strict on immigration laws. I think that's A thing that would just be so much easier for I think influencing our political Opinions and for outcomes in any election. I also do think that It's just that the voting age because there are still more opinions that need to be heard because I've seen more and more Eight first-generation Americans here who aren't old enough to vote yet and their parents can't and that's not right to me Sure. Yeah, so I think that we see a system that isn't perfect And I don't think that we're ever going to see a system that is perfect But what we can do is try to make it the best that we can So that's going to be something for policymakers and others to figure out in the future So moving forward that will be a question that is going to be pressing our society Thank you. I've been your host Cedric Hughes and you've been watching teens on topic