青少年是否足够成熟来行使投票权

Are Teenagers Mature Enough to Vote? 青少年是否足够成熟来行使投票权

In Ohio’s presidential primary recently, 17-year-olds were permitted to vote.

That’s unusual because the voting age in the United States is 18. But during this election¹ campaign, some people want to change the voting rules.

In Ohio, a judge ruled that 17-year-olds who turn 18 before the November 8 general election can vote.   

Several groups, including Generation Citizen, want local governments to permit all 16- and 17-year-olds to vote. Generation Citizen argues that lowering the voting age will increase interest in government and politics.

“A lower voting age would involve parents, teachers, and community members in the process of learning² to vote, and ultimately³ voting themselves, raising adult voter turnout,” said Oliver York, age 16. He is a junior at a San Francisco high school and working with Generation Citizen’s “Vote 16 USA Campaign.”

Arguments against lowering the voting age include: 16- and 17-year-olds are not mature enough and would vote the way their parents do.

Here is what one person wrote on the website debate.org: “It’s simply the fact that people at 16-17-years-old don't have the emotional⁴ or mental maturity⁵ of someone 20-years-old. Their minds are still crazed with the chemicals of being a teenager.”

Professor Daniel Hart of Rutgers University has studied the arguments on both sides of the voting-age issue. He found knowledge of 16- or 17-year-olds about government is about the same as for 18- and 19-year olds. There is fall off for 15-year-olds, he said.

A University of Edinburgh study found many 16- and 17-year-olds do not vote like their parents. The study reported that 40 percent of these younger voters did not vote the same way as mom and dad in Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum.

One reason for a lower voting age is that 18 is the worst age for people to begin voting, according to Scott Warren. He is executive⁶ director of Generation Citizen.

That is because at age 18 many teens leave home for the first time, either for college or a job, he said. They find themselves in a community they do not know very well.

And that makes it harder for them to learn about their new community’s voting rules and issues, Warren said.

Some countries already permit teens younger than 18 to vote.

Some examples from a recent survey by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency⁷: Austria lowered the voting age from 18 to 16 in 2008. Argentina has allowed 16-year-olds to vote since 2012.

In Brazil, 16- and 17-year olds and those older than 70 have the option to vote. People aged⁸ 18-69 are required to vote.

Hungary allows 16- and 17-year-olds to vote if they are married. Serbia allows 16-year-olds to vote if they are employed.

Abigail Koerner, age 16, is a junior at a Washington, D.C., high school. She is disappointed she cannot vote for her Democratic⁹ presidential candidate¹⁰ -- Senator¹¹ Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Said Abigail: “I don't know enough about politics quite yet to make a distinction as to which party I affiliate¹² with. But everything Bernie says about healthcare and education would benefit my life and the lives of people around me.”

Warren said teens who start voting at 16 or 17 will continue to vote when they reach 18, 19 and 20 -- ages when turnout is now very low.

“The United States now ranks 143rd in voter turnout, and we think we should be doing all we can to increase turnout,” Warren said.

In 2012, 53.6 percent of the voting-age population voted in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. That compares to 87.2 percent in Belgium, 86.4 percent in Turkey and 82.6 percent in Sweden.  Belgium and Turkey require people to vote.

Words in This Story

primary – n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election

process – n. a series of actions that produce something or that lead to a particular result

ultimately – adv. at the end of a process, period of time

disappoint – v. to make a person unhappy because they cannot do something that they want

affiliate – v. to closely¹³ connect (something or yourself) with or to something

benefit – v. to be useful or helpful

1 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 ultimately   

adv.最后地，最终地，首要地，基本地

参考例句：

• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience.那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。
• Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。

4 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

5 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

6 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

7 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

10 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。

11 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

12 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

13 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。