TEENAGE AND THE VOTING RIGHT

 

TEENAGE AND THE VOTING RIGHT.
BY T.S. KHANNA, FEB 10, 2024,
FOUNDATION FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT,

On March 23, 1971, Congress proposed 26^th Amendment to allow voting rights for the teenage. On July 1^st, 1971, 3/4^th of the states ratified the proposed 26^th Amendment, lowering voting right from age 21 to 18.

The narrative used as the main argument to lower the voting age was: “if a citizen is old enough to fight in a war, he/she is old enough to vote also”.
The narrative sounds logical to the common man without being so. For carrying out orders to fight, a different mindset is required than to make an independent judgment for voting.

 

When our logic is not in order, the more of it we use, the greater is our cultural ignorance.

 

Now take a look at the non-partisan insight of the medical science of the teenage brain.

 

·       It is wired differently than that over the age of 22;

·       It is a confounding organ;

·       It’s quotient of grey matter --- neuron filled responsible for cognitive and emotional functions --- peaks only in age well into the twenties.

·       It is short on the white matter (cerebrum) that ensures coordination of various thoughts and emotions within the brain.

·       The connection between the frontal lobe and the rest of the brain does not fully form until the age 22 or more. Frontal lobe is the part of the brain with ability of foreseeing the consequences of one’s actions and the difference between good and bad.

·       Generally speaking, the young brain is the brawn that gradually ripens into brain with age.

 

We recommend that the minimum voting age should be raised to 25 years with certain prerequisites discussed elsewhere.