California proposes voting age be 14 O.O;;;

[Lancet Jades]

California Lawmakers Want Voting Age Lowered to 14
Mon Mar 8, 9:58 PM ET






SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Four Democratic California lawmakers on Monday proposed giving teenagers as young as 14 the right to vote in a move that would make the often trailblazing state the first in the nation to do so.



Under the proposal, youths under the current legal voting age of 18 would be able to cast ballots in state and local elections only, although their vote would not have full weight that an adult vote would.



For example, a vote cast by a 14 or 15-year-old would be counted as a quarter of a vote, and a vote by a 16 or 17-year-old would be counted as half a vote.



Lawmakers say giving teenagers partial votes would get them interested in the election process and would not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as it only applied to state ballots.



"We believe it's time to open up the franchise to young Californians at the age of 14, let them register and vote and be seriously included in the process," said Democratic State Senator John Vasconcellos.



Sue North, chief of staff for Vasconcellos, said that if the proposal passes, it would be the first time any state would have amended its constitution to allow high school students to vote.

[Hector]

must move to california...but seriously, i personaly dont think kids at 14 abd 15 dont watch the news enough to vote. kids here sure dont

[Lancet Jades]

Well, yeah. Thats why their votes wouldnt count as much as an adult's. And it would probly get them more interested in politics too.

[Dragoon Taryn]

That = very bad idea.

Seriously, most 14 year olds don't care about politics, so it'll end up that they're going to vote for whoever mommy and daddy tell them to.

[Lancet Jades]

So? Most 18+ year olds will vote for whatever party their parents educated and trained them to like anyways.

[Jeff]

So? Most 18+ year olds will vote for whatever party their parents educated and trained them to like anyways.

That in itself is ignorance. If I did that I would just check off a straight democratic ticket and be done with it.

[Lancet Jades]

I said "most" kids would vote the same as their parents. I didnt say "all".

As it is, the majority of 14-18 year olds who actually vote would vote the same as their parents, and the rest would vote differently. The remainder of the 14-18 year olds wouldnt vote. Thus, although allowing them to vote would increase the number of potential votes, the RATIO of votes would most likely stay the same, or very similar.