There is a ongoing nationwide debate about whether the voting age in the United States should be lowered from 18 to 16. The supporters of lowering the voting age say that many of these teenagers are the advocates behind many political issues, but they also have the most recent knowledge of politics as they are required to take and American government class in high school. Teenagers are also one hundred percent of the future of America, and they should have a say in it. While the people who oppose the idea say that teenagers don’t have enough knowledge to make these decisions or they will deliberately make bad choices, I believe that the voting age should be lowered.

Young people, such as the victims of the Parkland shooting, are advocates for political issues. These teenagers are the ones that have experienced the dangers of the issues that adults are debating about firsthand, like the issues about guns. According to Scholastic, studies show that by the age of 16, young people like those from Parkland are able can gather information and determine the weight of the outcome, even more quickly than adults can. Every student is also required to take an American government class by the age of 17, and therefore will have the most recent knowledge about the American political system. Teenagers are one hundred percent of the future of America, so not letting them vote on issues that will affect the outcome of America doesn’t really make sense. People say that teenagers do not have enough knowledge to make a vote in these elections, but a lot of the adults don’t either. In government class, students learned about a poll done which gathered people’s opinions on a new law. However, that law was fake and they wanted to see how many people knew that. Not many adults did. Teenagers are known for making bad decisions, but so are adults. That’s just the way of life.

The debate over whether or not the voting age should be lowered has been going on for a long time now. The voting age should be lowered as, 16 year olds understand politics, have many of the political debates directly affect their lives, and are the future of America.