I guess most of these arguments could apply to even lower ages. So why even have a floor?
Why not 15 or 14 years olds.?
Having age 18 as a cut-off for many things breaks down when you go through some of the arguments like you just did above. But society decided it was an acceptable enough cut-off point because somewhere along the line, we believe people (on average) become more capable.
If I were in charge, I would remove the voting floor and require everyone to take a voting competency test to earn their right to vote, and it has to be renewed every ten years after the first successful pass, then every five years after the age of 60. The test would be entirely written responses (no multiple choice) requiring you to explain what certain policies mean, objectively, and a section covering prominent current figures in local and federal politics. Certain sections would have more score leniency than others and the entire thing would have to be filled in without showing an immature level of bias against other parties (calling them names etc. (Not because calling them names in your free time is bad but because you should be able to grow tf up long enough to take an exam without blowing up about a group of people you hate))
For people with diagnosed cognitive or learning disabilities, the scoring would be different and they would be allowed an assistant from wherever the test is conducted to answer questions that don't outright give them the answers. For them, a more basic competency would allow them to pass, since they know what they believe but may struggle with specifics like terminology or articulation in written responses.
Sorry for the tangent, I just had the idea and kept writing - you know how it is
I guess most of these arguments could apply to even lower ages. So why even have a floor?
Why not 15 or 14 years olds.?
Having age 18 as a cut-off for many things breaks down when you go through some of the arguments like you just did above. But society decided it was an acceptable enough cut-off point because somewhere along the line, we believe people (on average) become more capable.
If I were in charge, I would remove the voting floor and require everyone to take a voting competency test to earn their right to vote, and it has to be renewed every ten years after the first successful pass, then every five years after the age of 60. The test would be entirely written responses (no multiple choice) requiring you to explain what certain policies mean, objectively, and a section covering prominent current figures in local and federal politics. Certain sections would have more score leniency than others and the entire thing would have to be filled in without showing an immature level of bias against other parties (calling them names etc. (Not because calling them names in your free time is bad but because you should be able to grow tf up long enough to take an exam without blowing up about a group of people you hate))
For people with diagnosed cognitive or learning disabilities, the scoring would be different and they would be allowed an assistant from wherever the test is conducted to answer questions that don't outright give them the answers. For them, a more basic competency would allow them to pass, since they know what they believe but may struggle with specifics like terminology or articulation in written responses.
Sorry for the tangent, I just had the idea and kept writing - you know how it is