A charter amendment to lower the voting age to 16 in San Francisco will be featured on the upcoming November ballot. This new step in giving the younger generation less restrictive voting rights will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to participate in the city-wide elections, allowing them to vote on some city and state elections and propositions. Although other nations such as Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom have already have a minimum requirement of 16, if passed, San Francisco would be of the first major city in the country to lower the voting age.
In response to low voter turnout rates among adults who can vote, by lowering the voting age, the proposal seeks to increase both the current and future voter turnout. In 2012, according to fairvote.org, only 58.2 percent of Americans who are able to vote voted in the presidential election; according to sfelections.org, 53.03 percent of people in San Francisco voted. In addition, by starting to vote earlier, this may instill good voting practices in teenagers for the future while also giving them a voice in city decisions.
As some teenagers are involved in politics and are just as capable of making informed decisions about the election as adults are, lowering the age would give them the opportunity to voice their opinions. U.S. History and Government teacher Heather Sadlon says, “I think there will be some students that are actually engaged and ready and follow the election and know what the issues are, that might even make better decisions that some adults who might not even vote. The age of 18 has been random and a bit arbitrary.”
Although this amendment would reduce limitations on teenagers under 18, there is skepticism over whether or not students are well-informed enough to make educated decisions. Junior Prateek Tenkale says, “Personally, I am not that politically aware of what’s going on in the election right now. At the age of 16, adolescents are still developing. I think it’s better to have mature voters than the voters that don’t have enough maturity.”
Junior Hannah McGowan adds, “I have been following the election fairly well, but I don’t believe every 16-year-old is necessarily ready to vote or can understand the responsibility and influence of their decisions. Therefore, it would be more sensible to keep the voting age at the legal adult age of 18.”
Taking into account the multiple pros and cons of this proposal, Sadlon offers an alternate solution to the issue. She says, “Instead of having 16-year-olds, I’d rather see adults voting and encourage them to vote and creating more ways for people who can vote to actually vote.“
There are many conflicting views on whether the voting age should be lowered or continue to stay the same. Even though this will give students an opportunity to voice their opinion and make an impact on one’s city, it puts into question what kind of impact they will have.
The Aragon Outlook wrote an editorial on their opinion on whether or not the voting age should be lowered to 16.
