Young voters accounted for 20% of all votes in the 2016 US president elections.

Electing a president is one of the most important decisions a citizen will ever take. It requires critical thinking and logical reasoning to understand the benefits each candidate will offer. In most countries, voters have to be 18 years or older, in others they may vote once they are 16. When democracies were just starting, the voting right was kept for people over 21, however with time that number has decreased. With great educational programs in many countries around the world, teenagers are becoming significantly interested in politics, showing maturity and critical thinking in their ideas. Voting age should be reduced to 16 in countries with good public education. Most students should be ready, and with increased focus on political classes, all of them would.

Voting ages have already been lowered to 16 in Austria, Brazil, Malta, Scotland, Switzerland, Luxembourg and other countries. Similar proposals have occurred in the US, Canada, and Australia, however none of these have actually been adopted.  Its logical for the minimum age to decrease with time, even more as education improves globally. Better education will mean that teenagers would be politically informed and educated, able to take their own decisions and decide what option is best for their future. Current events, such as high schoolers protesting against gun violence, show that teenagers are more mature than what most adults believe. They understand problems and are willing to take action against them.

Voting as a 16 or 17 year old teenager should not be an obligation, as it’s understandable that not all people have clarity in their ideas. However it should definitely be a choice, this election is going to mark the beginnings of the adult life for the teenager, and not having a voice is clearly an unfair disadvantage for prepared individuals. Many adults and politicians are against this idea, mainly because they believe that teenagers are not mentally prepared to make such an important choice. A recent study conducted by The New York Times shows otherwise. “Studies of cold cognition have shown that the skills necessary to make informed decisions are firmly in place by 16. By that age, adolescents can gather and process information, weigh pros and cons, reason logically with facts and take time before making a decision. Teenagers may sometimes make bad choices, but statistically speaking, they do not make them any more often than adults do,” Carolina Crosson, The New York Times staff editor, said.

It is clear that many adolescents are willing and ready to take this important decision. School should have given them enough tools to have critical thinking and make educated decisions at this age. They are young responsible citizens and the future of each country, we should take into account their ideas and encourage them to be politically active.