By Michael Townsend

When I was very young, either in first grade or in kindergarten, I bought my first book about the presidents of the United States at a book fair. I remember how many hours I spent going through the pages, looking at all the graphics, skimming through the biography and the summary of each president’s career. I remember how much I wanted to be a president someday and how thrilling it seemed to be to be able to cast a ballot for president. At that point, I could not wait to be a part of the political system in some way.

Now, at age 15 going on 16, the next presidential election is about a year and a half in the future. My birthday being in July, I will be some 8 months short of being able to vote in that election. This comes as a major disappointment for me because many of my classmates will be able to vote, many of those people far less interested in politics and government than I am. Also, my first congressional election will not be until I am nearly 19 and a half and my first presidential election will not be until I am nearly 21 and a half.

So my next question comes as a long shot, but what if we lowered the voting age to, let’s say, 15? No, really, what if we did? Most of the people between 15 and 18 are learning about the election anyways in school, so it’s not like these people aren’t educated enough. There is a solid chance that many of these people will show up to vote, so it’s not like we would be wasting our time in lowering the voting age. Instead, what we would be allowing is an opportunity for every single person to vote either before or at age 18, which is a very good opportunity if you ask me. That way, young people like myself who are interested in the election will not have to wait as long. So why not lower the voting age?

The 26th amendment to the Constitution in 1971 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and gave a newly politically energized youth the opportunity to vote. Middle schools and high schools began to further integrate politics and voting into the curriculum, and several young people showed up in the booth to give President Richard Nixon a 49 state lead over challenger George McGovern. Since the passage of the 26th amendment the base of young people interested in voting has expanded to include even younger people now, some of whom are as young as I was when I bought that book at the book fair. And by age 15, many of those people will be ready to make an informed decision, or they can rely on their teachers and parents to help them. To lower the voting age is a process that would take time, but would most certainly be worthwhile.

So the next question we might ask ourselves is, what is the benefit of allowing younger people to vote? In just a few elections, the young people today will be the decision makers and the current decision makers will be either in retirement or far less involved for the most part. By giving these people an early experience with voting, we are preparing them for this role, which will be theirs before we know it. Having a more educated voting base is always a benefit, and these people will have their teachers and parents to educate them instead of having to decide on their own.

I hope that someday others will not have to feel the way I feel. I hope that these people will receive that early voting experience and will make the most of it. Perhaps many people may feel right now that these young people are not ready to make such major decisions, but as one of those people I can certainly vouch for the opposite. Because I know that there will be many people who will be disappointed that they cannot vote yet for years to come, I can only hope that they will be heard someday.