Should the US government lower the voting age to 16?

NO, we have too many irresponsible voters as it is now.

You know, honestly, I'm leaning towards no. I know many 16 year old that know more about our government and current affairs than most adults.

What I'd really like to see, is a more knowledgeable voting population. How would you do that? Would it be that you had to take a 5 question quiz about current affairs before voting? That would be the only way, but you'd hear such an uproar that it would be difficult to implement.

If you employed the quiz, I'd be okay with a 16 y/o voting.

No, they don't have enough understanding of the world, or US government, to be able to make informed decisions. Realistically, I think property owners should be the only eligible voters, or perhaps a weighting system where certain votes should count more based on what you have at stake in the elections, but that has problems of its own.

I think it's a given that 16 year olds still live with parents; anyone dependent on someone else should not be voting until they can support themselves, because at that point in time, government policy will have a real and measurable impact on their lives.

The power to vote should be exclusive to taxpayers ONLY, with a 2 year grace clause(hey- any hard working highly ambitious person can have employment trouble!), along with a retiree clause allowing for their taxpaying history to take precedence.

This would eliminate the concept of "voting for a living"(in other words voting for the candidate most likely to redistribute income).

This would also limit "emotional voting", which is what the Gen Y crowd did in this last election.

I hope you did not take the position that the age should be lowered. People need to live for awhile and pay taxes before they start choosing people who will control their lives. You know the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? The Democrat hasn't been mugged yet.

Oh My God NO! The reason Obama is in right now is because of all the immature voters 18 to 22 that voted for him! The voting age should be 25 and older, not lowered.

Hell no.

But more importantly there should be a poll test. People are voting for candidates not knowing the first thing about them OR how our system works. The test should cover basic US civics as well as the positions of the candidates running for office.

No!!

I'm in favor of raising the voting age to 25. By then most people's brains have matured.

My opinion is no. Most sixteen year olds are not even allowed to drive a car legally, and you think they should vote? They are still minors; still dependent upon their parents; still in high school (or should be, and if not, they REALLY don't need to be voting); do not pay property taxes; and are not (unless in the most extreme of cases) tried as adults in a court of law.

Again: No.

NO!!!!!!! I'm 18 and I think the vast majority of people in my age group have no business being at the polls. I say raise it back to 21!

No. Voting should require informed opinion. at 16, one is too naive to make educated, political decisions. In fact, a test, similar to the one required for citrizenship should be required.