Editor,

Despite the idea being absurd at first glance, lowering the voting age will benefit American society as a whole.

A study done by Fairvote.org showed that the longer someone waits to vote after being given the right, the less likely they are to vote in the long run. Between filling out college applications and writing for scholarships, moving out and going to college, and then trying to keep up with this new, high level stress, many teens are too preoccupied to vote.

If we get American citizens voting sooner, it is reasonable to believe that this will lead to better voter turnout over the course of time, possibly correcting the huge issue of a voter turnout in America today

The 18-24 age group, however, are not the only ones that would reap the benefits of lowering the voting age. Involving teens in voting will create new conversations and excitement about what it means to be able to cast a vote, bringing light to the importance of voting among all age groups.

Eighty percent of teens hold some sort of job before they go to college and pay over $10 million a year in taxes (youthrights). Any American citizen paying into American programs, deserves to have a say in how these programs are managed. Teens have, and will continue to have, an invested interest in the country as a whole, long after all current legislators are gone. In order to protect our future — we must give teens the right to vote.

It is only just.

In 1941, a young girl named Rebecca Tilsen argued to a House subcommittee that, “If 16-year-olds are old enough to drink the water polluted by the industries that you regulate, if 16-year-olds are old enough to breathe the air ruined by garbage burners that government built, if 16-year-olds are old enough to live in poverty in one of the richest countries in the world, and if 16-year-olds are old enough to attend school districts that you underfund, then 16-year-olds are old enough to play a part in making them better.”

This idea still holds true today.

Cathryn Asp

Oak Harbor