Today (well yesterday really) is a good day for youth rights and the push for lowering the voting age. The issue is starting to crack the blogosphere. I just was alerted to the fact that Matthew Yglesias has picked up on the issue and voiced his support for it over at the TPM Cafe, his entry was a response to an entry by DJW where he confronts the arguments against lowering the voting age.
He did a good job too, btw.
I don’t really have a whole lot to add to either of their commentaries, they seem to both have a good understanding of the issue. Of course anyone interested in lowering the voting age should check out NYRA’s voting age resource for more facts and arguments supportive of the idea. I certainly hope this snowballs, but we’ll see. Its definitely an issue worth consideration, and as Matthew and DJW mentioned, there really aren’t any good arguments against it.
Its great to see Matthew pick it up as well, he may not remember, but we’ve actually known each other since high school. We both participated in the NYLC conference in DC, and hung out that week. We never kept in touch, but a year or two ago I found out he is a writer and popular blogger now. Small world. Great to see him, and others, picking up on the issue.
I’ll definitely have to get in touch with both Matthew and DJW. And that essay by Michael S. Cummings that sparked this, “On Children’s Right to Vote”.
The Voting age should be lowered because by giving children the right to vote they cannot complain about not having a saying in society. The government doesn’t want to give kids democracy because they feel it would give teens to much power.