How many 18 year olds vote

Mitchell , the court determined that Congress could pass a change in the voting age at the federal level, but not at the state level. This decision meant state election officials in nearly every state would need to create and maintain two sets of voter records, resulting in a huge administrative burden and massive costs that many states did not want to take on.

And even if they did, it was unlikely that everything could be organized before the election. This issue helped push the 26th Amendment forward as a viable and necessary fix.

In response, the House and Senate, supported by Nixon, introduced what would become the 26th Amendment in March Any effort to stop the wave for the year-old vote would be as useless as a telescope to a blind man. Politicians likewise mobilized to capture the toyear-old demographic.

Democratic nominee George McGovern assumed youth would overwhelmingly support his anti-war message, and anticipated a 70 percent sweep of the demographic. When the ballots were cast, only about half of newly eligible youth voters turned out, and the vote was split between the two candidates. It was a disappointing result for McGovern, and for many of the advocates, who had hoped for a higher turnout. A few factors influenced the relatively low showing for youth, says Blumenthal.

Registration was hampered by complex rules, and the sense among young people that the political system was broken squashed enthusiasm to participate in the election.

McGovern, too, lost steam with youth when he started appealing to older, more moderate voters as the campaign wore on. Half a century later, many elements of youth voting look similar to how they did in the s: Younger voters identify as political independents in higher numbers than those in older generations do, and they still face voter registration roadblocks and a lack of understanding around voting laws.

According to Quinn, one such barrier is the overcriminalization of youth of color, which can lead to adult felony convictions barring voting for life, fees that must be cleared before voting, and arrest issuances for low-level offenses that can deter would-be voters from coming to polling places.

Many of these restrictions are being contested across the country. As a political compromise, sure; a voting age of 12 might be more achievable than universal suffrage is. It is probably more pragmatic to draw a line somewhere. Of course, they should have access to the same accommodations as adults, like accessible voting machines with audio ballots if preferred.

There are some very real drawbacks here. I expect that enfranchising everyone will make the electorate less informed on average. But I think the moral case for enfranchising children overwhelms these concerns.

Much of the promise of democracy is that giving people power over their government is a good thing. Taking that seriously means extending the vote as far as we can. Sign up for the Future Perfect newsletter. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.

Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all.

Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. High School students gather at a gun control rally near the U. Capitol on March 14, Young people have a stake in our future. Let them vote.

Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. The expanding voting-rights circle American democracy got off to a rough start. Here are four I want to highlight: 1 The whole concept of a voting age is kinda unprincipled The US Constitution holds that the right to vote cannot be abridged on the basis of race, color, previous condition of servitude, sex, or age Future Perfect Are we turning the corner on Covid treatments?

Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds are allowed to drive in all 50 states. Studies show year-olds show adequate political knowledge to make informed decisions. In fact, year-old Americans score higher in areas related to civic knowledge than those in their early twenties.

The federal Voting Rights Act of states that: any person who has not been adjudged an incompetent and who has completed the sixth grade in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where instruction is carried on predominantly in the English language, possesses sufficient literacy, comprehension, and intelligence to vote in any election.

If adults lack even basic knowledge of who represents them and how the government works, how can youth be classified as not knowledgeable enough to vote?

Adults also tend to overestimate their knowledge of civics , which may lead to increased hesitation to expand their political knowledge. Young people will turnout to vote Even when denied the right to vote, nearly half of Generation Z believes that voting is important even though they cannot vote. People under 18 often have a higher voter turnout rate than older groups, such as: Chicago Primary : year-olds had a higher turnout rate than any other age group from Studies conducted by the Kids Voting , a program that conducts civic education and mock elections in K, have shown that adult voters, including, but not limited to the parents of participating students, are more likely to turnout to elections has a result of the mock elections.

Because of the habitual nature of voting, 16 is a better age to introduce voting. At 18, many young people moving from one community to another. This is especially true for college students who may register at home, but be living in another state come Election Day. If citizens begin voting earlier, and get into the habit of doing so earlier, they are more likely to stick with it through life. States are allowed to set their voting age below 18 Some people mistakenly believe that the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution set the voting age at It argues that minor enfranchisement requires postmodern rather than modern conceptions of democratic inclusion and revised understandings of voting rights as such.

The Right to Vote Youth rights theorist John Holt argues why people of all ages should be more involved in their government and vote. Taken from the youth rights classic Escape from Childhood. Research studies American Sixteen- and Seventeen-Year-Olds Are Ready to Vote Professors Daniel Hart and Robert Atkins argue that and year-olds should be able to vote in both state and federal elections by identifying the core components of citizenship and illustrating that and year-olds possess them.

Are People More Inclined to Vote at 16 than at 18? Evidence for the First-Time Voting Boost Among to Year-Olds in Austria Political scientists Eva Zeglovits and Julian Aichholzer examine voter turnout of people aged 16 to 17 in Austria and conclude lowering voting age contributes to higher voter turnout rates.

Hansen show that introducing voting at a younger age, when young people are more likely to live at home, should increase voter turnout. Voting at Turnout and the quality of vote choice Studying data from Austria election, researchers Markus Wagner, David Johann, and Sylvia Kritzinger show that the quality votes cast by people under 18 is similar to those of older voters. Why Did They Vote? Quotes No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a choice in the election of those who make the laws under which…we must live.

Saunders If year-olds are old enough to drink the water polluted by the industries that you regulate, if year-olds are old enough to breathe the air ruined by garbage burners that government built, if year-olds are old enough to walk on the streets made unsafe by terrible drugs and crime policies, if year-olds are old enough to live in poverty in the richest country in the world, if year-olds are old enough to get sick in a country with the worst public health-care programs in the world, and if year-olds are old enough to attend school districts that you underfund, then year-olds are old enough to play a part in making them better.

Related pages. Bill McClain, research director for Clean and Prosperous America has spent significant time analyzing the political attitudes of Gen Z voters. He says the issues most important to these young voters are "defeating the coronavirus, jobs and the economy and climate change.

But he adds that what makes this generation unique, is how they approach issues as interconnected. And then Generation Z came. And Generation Z is the most diverse generation in the history of the United States and I think you're seeing that play out in voter preference," says Cohen. But much greater percentages of young Black and Latino voters, who make up larger shares of America's youngest generations than ever before, voted for Biden.

And the White share of the population is declining. Unsurprisingly, young voters on the left and right say that the communities they were raised in have significantly impacted their political opinions.

I have friends and family that are undocumented. So my vote definitely represented them. While Walden says she stands by most of Trump's views, particularly on taxes and abortion issues, she says wishes he had handled the pandemic differently. While young people have long had a reputation for leaning left, Rosenberg says Gen Z's political preference is not a passing phase. And that's actually not true," says Rosenberg.