Voting age requirements

Being born a little “too late”

Hannah Rouillard, head reporter

Voting age requirements should be more flexible for late borns.  Teenagers who are turning eight in late November and December should also be allowed to vote. They are turning the legal voting age in the year of the election, so they should not miss this great opportunity because of a few days or weeks.

Teens turning 18 in December and November, are unable to vote because they were born a bit too late. Even if it’s just one day after the set election day you still cannot vote.

It is actually easier to vote as a felon, then as a seventeen-year-old with a perfect record. The National Conference of State Legislatures website says that in 13 states a felon vote, but only after an additional waiting period or with a pardon from the governor. But there is no way to get around voting if you are born a day after the voting day.

You can argue that adding days in November and December is too messy. You could say that turning eighteen within the 365 days is nice and clean, but adding the 55 is too much mess. But we have done much more complicated changes, adding a few days is not messy or complicated. There is no excuse, this is possible.

As many people say, voting is a wonderful opportunity. We should not strip away the rights of these young adults. These teenagers should not miss this opportunity. Teenagers turning 18 in November and December should be allowed to vote, because they turn the legal voting age in the year of the election.