Should the voting age be 16?

16-year-olds are capable of formulating opinions

Question: Should the voting age be 16?
Position1 of 3›: Yes, the age should be lowered
Argument‹3 of 4›: 16-year-olds are capable of formulating opinions

Sixteen-year-olds are beginning to become independent-they are old enough to make their own decisions.

The argument

So many sixteen-year-olds are changing and morphing the world of politics. Greta Thunberg, with her activism on the nature of global warming and climate change. Malala made her voice heard, loud and clear. Amika George staged protests to fight for period poverty. Through the actions of teens like these, young people have proved time and time again that they are capable of making important political decisions. They deserve to be able to vote and have a say in important and critical issues that involve them directly.

Premises

[P1]Sixteen-year-olds such as Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai and Amika George have led major political campaigns on climate, education and period poverty. [P2] Their activism demonstrates that young people are capable of forming and acting on serious political opinions. [P3] People who can make such important political judgements deserve a say in the issues that affect them. [C] Therefore, the voting age should be lowered to 16.

Counter-arguments

The young activists are the minority of their age groups. The few loud do not make up for the silent majority of young teenagers that are simply repeating what their favorite celebrities or parents are reporting. Lowering the age to accommodate for a few does not make sense.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Activists do not represent their entire age group.