Name :MUHAMMAD AKMAL ALHAKIM BIN RAZUKI

Student ID : 622 1311 8185

Class : AC 10

Speech Outline
General Goal : To inform
Specific Goal : I want to make audience to know about the issue of lowering voting to
age 18.

INTRODUCTION :

1. History about lowering voting to 18

a) Before the Second World War of 1939–1945, the voting age in almost all countries
was 21 years or higher. In 1946 Czechoslovakia became the first state to reduce the
voting age to 20 years, and by 1968 a total of 17 countries had lowered their voting
age.Many countries, particularly in Western Europe, reduced their voting ages to
18 years during the 1970s, starting with the United Kingdom (1969), with the
United States (26th Amendment) (1971), Canada, West Germany (1972), Australia
(1974), France (1974), and others following soon afterwards.

b) On July 5, 1971, President Richard Nixon formally certified the 26th Amendment
of the Constitution, which granted 18 years old the right to vote. Prior to that date,
the voting age had been 21 in a majority of the states, even though 18 years old
were old enough to get married, work, and were expected to pay taxes as others
adults did. In the Vietnam War, the average age of U.S. soldiers was 19, and a
slogan ''Old enough to fight, old enough to die''.

c) In 1971, Senator Jennings Randolph, a Democrat of West Virginia, proposed a

constitutional amendment to lower the voting age and it unanimously passed the
Senate. In the House of Representatives only 19 out of 419 congressmen opposed it
and it was sent to the states to be ratified. It took just 100 days to receive the
necessary three-fourths majority of state ratification. On July 5, the 26th
Amendment was formally adopted into the Constitution, adding 11 million
potential voters to the electorate. Half of these young voters cast their ballot in the
1972 presidential election.
Thesis Statement :
The information that I will like to share today is about why must voting age be lowered
and also the pros and cons about this issue.

Body
Main Point 1 : Why must voting age be lowered ?
Topic Sentences : Firstly, I will like to share with you guys about why must voting
age be lowered.

1.1 Why must voting age be lowered ?

1.1.1 Young people have adult responsibilities

People under 18 are contributing and active members of society. Millions of us

are employed and volunteer in our communities. Many people under 18 also have
“adult” responsibilities such as being the primary caregiver for an ailing family
member, running a business, and making substantial financial contributions to our
households.

1.1.2 Young people make good voters

When the voting age has been lowered to 18, young people have shown our interest in
voting. In 2013, when Takoma Park, Maryland, lowered its voting age to 18, registered
voters under 18 had a turnout rate four times higher than voters over 18. And again in
Hyattsville, Maryland (the second place in the U.S. to lower the voting age to 18),
registered 18 years old voters had a higher turnout out rate than older voters. 18 years
old also had a higher turnout rate than people aged 20-50 in the Chicago Primary in
2014.

1.1.3 Lowering the voting age will help increase voter turnout.

Voting is a habitual act people who vote in one election are more likely to vote in the
next. Lowering the voting age will establish new voters when people are less likely to
be moving as a result of attending college or leaving their families. People under 18
tend to have stronger roots in their community, often having lived in the same area for
many years and established connections to their school, family and friends, and other
community groups.Lowering the voting age can lead to longer-term voter turnout,
bringing more citizens into contact with their government, and pushing the government
to better serve their people.(National Civic Review,2017)
1.1.4 Lowering the voting age will improve the lives of youth.

Young people have a right to be heard and to have our interests taken seriously.
However, by disenfranchising young people society tells us that we do not have
anything of value to add to the political conversations in our society. It also gives
politicians permission to ignore our interests as people under 18 have no way to hold
their representatives accountable.

Body
Main Point 2 : The pros of lowering voting to 18
Topic Sentences : Secondly, I will like to share with you about the pros of lowering
voting to 18.

1.2 The pros of lowering voting age to 18

1.2.1 Lowering the voting age would create more democracy

The concept of democracy is one in which each member of the political community is
considered to have equal status and in which political institutions and practices embody
that principle.(Chan,2006).
Democracy is defined by the ability of people to choose their representatives on their
own. In a true democracy, each person would be given the opportunity to vote. In the
U.S., that responsibility is delegated to the parents of a child without giving the parent
an opportunity to vote on their behalf. Each qualifying adult receives just one vote. By
shifting the voting age to 18 the results of each election would become a better
representation of the majority of the population.

1.2.2 The involvement of more people creates more innovation

If we have 5 people in a room together, we have the potential for 5 different

perspectives. Double that figure to 10 and you’ll double the number of perspectives that
are available. That is the power of diversity. When people from different ages,
socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities come together, innovation
happens. Ideas are merged together to create brand-new opportunities. Lowering the
voting age would bring millions of new youthful perspectives into each election cycle.
1.2.3 It develops a habit of societal engagement

Many of the habits that people develop during the ages of 16 and 17 become a routine
part of their adult life. Just 10% of a teen’s academic achievement can be directly
associated with the quality of their home life. It is the experiences that teens choose that
make it easier for them to develop healthy habits in the future. By encouraging voting at
a younger age, the habit of being engaged with society forms earlier, creating a better
chance that the teen voter will become a regular adult voter.

1.2.4 Teens are already permitted to have some adult responsibilities.

Teens are permitted to legally work in the United States at the age of 14, according to
the Fair Labor Standards Act. In some jobs, such as farm work, delivering newspapers,
umpiring, acting, or babysitting, kids under the age of 14 can have jobs too. If teens are
permitted to hold a work permit so they can earn an income and pay taxes, then
shouldn’t they also have the right to vote? In the U.S., the history of taxation without
representation is a foundational component of the country.

Closing statement : So, there are many advantages of lowering voting age to 18 that
are lowering the voting age would create more democracy, the
involvement of more people creates more innovation, it
develops a habit of societal engagement and teens are already
permitted to have some adult responsibilities.
Body
Main Point 3 : The cons of lowering voting to 18
Topic Sentences : Therefore it has pros, its also have cons of lowering voting to
18

1.3 The cons of lowering voting age to 18

1.3.1 Lowering the voting age could lead to manipulated voting patterns.

Children have a certain innocence about them when it comes to the world. Before the
age of 8, most children believe that the information they see in an advertisement is an
absolute fact. There is a complete trust in those around them. Even as children turn
into teens and begin to explore who they are and want to be, there is a tendency to
lean on the beliefs of their parents. By lowering the voting age, one would be
duplicating many of the votes that parents are already casting.

1.3.2 Younger voters may not understand all the issues.

Let’s take a look at the average school day for a high school student. They are going
to be in school for about half day in a day. That leaves many younger voters without
enough time to fully understand critical issues in an election to form an informed
opinion.

They have relatively little knowledge, however, which indicates that they may be less
able to participate. (Wagner,2012)

1.3.3 It may be difficult for some teens to cast a ballot.

If teens are allowed to vote, they would be required to walk to their polling center,
take public transportation, or hitch a ride with friends or family. There are mail-in
ballots, absentee ballots, and electronic ballots that could be cast in some jurisdictions
to counter this issue somewhat, though the right to vote on election day would still
need to be recognized. There would need to be infrastructure improvements made to
accommodate the need to transport teens for voting purposes.
1.3.4 There are more risks taken by teens than older adults.

According to information compiled by the CDC from various sources, the smoking
rate for high school students is as high as 24% when cigarettes are used. The adult
smoking rate, in comparison, is just over 16%. From use handphone to texting while
driving, teens are much more likely to take risks than adults. That behavior could
translate to the ballot box, which means a true majority vote may not be achieved.

Closing statement : Generally, there are many disadvantages of lowering voting age
to 18 that are lowering the voting age could lead to
manipulated voting patterns, younger voters may not
understand all the issues, it may be difficult for some teens to
cast a ballot and also there are more risks taken by teens than
older adults.

Conclusion :

1) As a conclusion, there are many information that could regarding lowering voting
to 18 that is about the reason must voting age be lowered.
2) We should know what are the advantage and disadvantage of lowering voting age
to 18.
3) There are a quote by President Richard Nixon state that “Old Enough to Fight,
Old Enough to Vote”
References :

1) History of lowering voting to 18, HISTORY.COM EDITORSTV-Y31

From
https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/the-26th-am
endment
2) National Youth Right Association(NYRA)(2017), Reason why must voting age
be lowered from

https://www.youthrights.org/issues/voting-age/top-ten-reasons-to-lowe
r-the-voting-age/
3) Pros and cons of lowering voting to 18, (Brandon Gaille,18 May 2018) from

https://brandongaille.com/15-pros-and-cons-of-lowering-the-voting-age
/
4) Young Voices at the Ballot Box Lowering the Voting Age, Generation Citizens
(2017) from
http://www.nationalcivicleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/YouthVo
ting.pdf
5) Should the Voting Age be Lowered to Sixteen? Normative and Empirical
Considerations (2016) from
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0006/papers/ps2006.pdf
6) Young Voices at the Ballot Box: Lowering the Voting Age for Local Elections in
2017 and Beyond. (2017). National Civic Review, 106(2), 29-38.
doi:10.1002/ncr.21319

7) Chan, T. W., & Clayton, M. (2006). Should the Voting Age be Lowered to
Sixteen? Normative and Empirical Considerations. Political Studies, 54(3).

8) Wagner, M., Johann, D., & Kritzinger, S. (2012). Voting at 16: Turnout and
the quality of vote choice. Electoral Studies, 31(2), 372-383.
doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2012.01.007