3 posts tagged “government”

Here's a "Personal Declaration" I wrote for English about how people under 18 should be allowed to vote:

    I declare that citizens of the United States under 18 should be able to vote in federal and state elections if they so choose and are deemed intellectually able to make an educated decision in an election. In the United States, the minimum voting age is 18. The obvious reason behind this was relevant when the Constitution was drafted in the 1700s. Education was not widespread, and most people under 18 could not have had a clear understanding of the American government. The age of 18 must have been the determined tipping point for an American individual to have an understanding of politics. Another similar situation is the electoral college, which simplified the public vote of the country into a closer election between a smaller group of candidates.

    In the past, that system was deemed useful because there was a large number of candidates that a precise election deemed by a popular vote would have been inaccurate. In present time, the electoral college is disputed heavily because there are only a few well known presidential elections that a popular vote would be more fair and precise than a tabulation by the electoral college. So, being parallel with the electoral college debate, the minimum voting age of 18 should be disputed on the grounds that American citizens are able to make themselves more knowledgable on the subject of elections and should be able to vote in elections if they are deemed to know enough on the matter and are able to make an educated and reasonable choice.

    The catch to this change of the law would be an evaluation or test to determine if the person under 18 should be able to vote. This would probably be the most debated part of the plan. I would envision a test that combines question content that is a mix of past history, current events, and important issues that affect the election that is being voted on. The taker of the test would have to get a certain percentage of answers correct to be able to register. This would ensure that only people with a vote that had basis could be a part of the election. Another part of the test could be a written part where the taker would express general opinion on the election. The test would be evaluated by another registered voter that would be willing to determine the status of the test taker. Then an unbiased decision could be made as to whether the person was eligible to vote.

    Enacting this plan would be a new step in a reformation of the election process. This idea of a test for voters under 18 is similar to the idea of getting rid of the electoral college. American citizens are able to educate themselves more than in the past, and should be able to vote if they under the age of 18. Steps need to be made to adjust to the modern way of life we live with today. Having the ability to vote at any age should be an uncontested right in a country that claims to be free and have unrestricted rights. This is a no brainer, and is also a way to get Americans involved in how the country they live in works. Starting at a young age, to have the ability to be a part of running the country, is a building block on which the citizens of the country are able to make a difference in the United States.

The End! I think stuff like this will happen starting 2009...

I had henry on the show, and what was planned to be a 15 or 20 minute messaround, turned into a one hour discussion, with the most heated part of course being politics (again).

So (this was brought up on the show), how can I be a political 'activist'? (being 14)

I'm looking for most anything besides writing my congressman...

I took this from a post on our Government class' forum where we were debating the Electoral College.

I agree with parker. I think we shouldn't use editorial colleges because it isn't fair to the people,  since if the people who represent each state get bribed or corrupt then it isn't really basing their decision on the pop. vote. They can make their votes completely against the pop. vote if they feel like it. The whole reason why they made the editorial college is because they didn't want people who are misinformed and don't understand the current events on politics to elect the pres. , but now that we have radios, computers, and televisions almost everyone should be able to make a well educated decision on who should be pres. and we don't need anybody to make that decision for us.

First (sorry for the bold, Vox is being weird) what are the Editorial Colleges? Never heard of 'em. I have no clue who this girl is, but still, it is clearly stated as the ELECTORAL College. They elect people, and there is only one of them. People in the Electoral College do not get to decide who they vote for, so they don't get bribed and it is impossible for them to be 'corrupt.' The Electoral College is making misconceptions by having people in it, when really they aren't needed...