California Lawmakers Propose Voting Age of 14
 

JIM WASSERMAN, AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 8) - A proposed amendment to California's constitution would give 16-year-olds a half-vote and 14-year-olds a quarter-vote in state elections.

State Sen. John Vasconcellos, among four lawmakers to propose the idea on Monday, said the Internet, cellular phones, multichannel television and a diverse society makes today's teens better informed than their predecessors.

The idea requires two-thirds approval by the Legislature to appear on the November ballot.

"When we gave the vote to those who didn't own property, then to women, then to persons of all colors, we added to the richness of our democratic dialogue and our own nation's integrity and its model for the world," Vasconcellos said, calling it time to further extend the vote.

A Republican colleague said it was "the nuttiest idea I've ever heard."

Said Assemblyman Ray Haynes: "There's a reason why 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds don't vote. They are not adults. They are not mature enough. They are easily deceived by political charlatans."

Student supporters said the idea could give them a say in issues such as education funding and bring new voices to the California electorate.

"If we could vote, politicians would see us as votes, not just kids, and they would take our issues seriously," said Robert Reynolds, a student at Berkeley High School.

Re: California Lawmakers Propose Voting Age of 14
 

That is the only thing that makes any kind of sense......

the younger you are the more liberal you tend to vote since liberalism is based mostly on emotions with very little common sense, therefore it's understandable that Dems would want younger voters.

John Vasconcellos also initiated the horribly bad "self esteem" program that actually did the exact opposite of what it was intended to do.

WOW. We're almost in agreement. You're taking the old adage of "socialism is something you grow out of" and applying it to mainstream politics. Fair enough. I don't necessarily agree with it, but this is a monumentally stupid idea - something similar was proposed in Britain about 5 months ago.

Personally, just because I don't believe that 14 (or even 16-year olds) have a full grasp on the political fray, isn't the reason I oppose it - christ, there's plenty of 30-year olds who have as much grasp. I'm opposed, simply because I'd hate to see children being dragged into the political shit that we've created - they've enough formative issues to contend with as it is.

If they're that intersted in politics, then bravo. A couple more years won't hurt.

--TM