Read Rick Shenkman's article 5 Myths About Those Civic-Minded, Deeply Informed Voters (Washington Post - September 7, 2008). In the comments section of this blog post (the Room 3011 Blog) add your own comment answering the following question: With voter knowledge so low, should the U.S. really permit all Americans over 18 years of age to vote? Include one detail from the article when supporting your answer. Be sure to include your first name and last initial at the end of your comment.
Complete this assignment before the end of the period and you'll receive +2 points on your exam (that's approximately 5%)!
12 comments:
The answer should be yes because even though Americans of thisof group do not know alot politically, They will either grow into thier knowledge or be like the majority of the public and still know little, as one researcher said. Peter K.
I think that 18-21 voters should be able to vote but not on national levels till they reach 21. At 18 they can start voting in state and local levels, so that policies that get voted on would effect them more before going nationals. The article mentioned how the younger voters are less knowledgable than any other group about what's going on and if by following the thoughts above then voters should be more aware before attempting national level.
~Abdullah M.
I do not think so because the article stated that americans are severely ignorant about politics and that hardly any regularly peruse newspapers for news and only 11% use the Internet for obtaining newsworthy information. So no, because they aren't all properly informed.
---Kevin d
I believe that the government should still allow citizens over 18 to vote. The article says that the people in the 18-29 age group are uneducated on politics but that doesn't take into account the people in that age group that are educated and do want to get their vote counted. It would not be fair them. There is still a large percentage of the population in other age groups that are uneducated but are still allowed to vote.
Kathy H.
"According to an August 2006 Zogby poll, only two in five Americans know that we have three branches of government and can name them. A 2006 National Geographic poll showed that six in ten young people (aged 18 to 24) could not find Iraq on the map"
I do believe that the voting age should remain 18 because although the survey might say that young people are ignorant, we should still have a say in how our government is run. Also I strongly disagree with their facts because I do not believe that 60% of young people cannot find iraq on a map.
Daniel Veizaga
The United States should allow young people to vote in elections, despite their lack of knowledge. At 18, Americans become adults, and political policies will actually affect them more so than when they were minors, so they should have the right to have a voice in political decisions, through voting. If voter ignorance were the argument to take away the right to vote from young people, this would have to apply to the older voters too. According to Shenkman's article, it is all American voters who are ignorant, not just the young ones. Two in five Americans cannot name the three branches of government, and this statistic includes all the older voters, also.
Maggie A
I believe that we should not change it. Not
only that but we will lose all of our teenaged
voters. We will have to wait untll we are
in college. It will lead to a lot of complaints
because if we can drive, we can fight for our
country but we can not vote, it will make
people mad. Whoever who does that
will lose the votes from the liberal and
libertarian parties.
L.C
I believe that people under the age of 21 should not be allowed to vote because most of them don't even know the facts behind their votes. They're uninformed and some studies "found that the young (aged 18 to 29) 'know the least.'" Though some keep up with the news in the United States, barely any of them know what's going on in countries over seas. Though it's not just the young voters; many people over the age of thirty are only slightly more informed than young people themselves. If there was a way to require a test of some sort before the vote is cast their vote and a certain percentage point for their votes to count. Zoë W.
I don't think 18 year olds should be able to vote, they just don't seem to care enough about the current events. Also, acording to the article only 60 percent of the youth (18-21) were closly following the attack on setember elenth. If they don't have the time to spend on that, do you think they are going t o spend the time to become an informed voter? I think not. Wyeth S
I think the answer should be yes/ The levl of education is increasing and since most of the people votin now r old we shld compare the education. Letting younger ppl vote cld increase the intrest in voting and the way the government is run. Which cld increase kmowlege about the government.Kaitlyn o.
I believe that the us should keep the voting age the same because at 18 you are considered an adult and should be treated like one. Also the article stated that younger people are getting a higher politcal education then the past Leah w
I think that young people tend to dismiss voting due to thefact of their self interests to just live life with everthing being handed to them and letting the older generations solve their economic problems, aswell as equality and order. This is most likely true because of the lack of ambition to get active in politics and solve daily pronblems that affect others
Steve San Miguel
period 3
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