Primary Voting at Age 17

A wide issue surrounds United States voting issues right now that most people are not aware about. In the United States, there are primaries and caucuses that choose a party’s candidate for a general election. Voting rights in primaries and caucuses are restricted in over half of US states for people who will be 18 years old, the legal age to vote, by the time of the following general election. As primaries and caucuses are held by state political parties, these state parties have restricted these 17 year olds from voting for the party candidates, taking them out of the equation until the general election.

As a 16 year old who will be 18 and legally able to vote in the 2020 US general elections, I have a personal interest in being able to vote in the Texas primaries. However, neither state major political party allows people who will be 18 on or before November 3, 2020, meaning that I am disenfranchised, as I will not be 18 years old when the Texas primaries occur. As someone who has a personal interest in this, I feel disenfranchised and completely powerless. This is completely against American freedom, and an unfair restriction of voting rights.

Fighting for the acquisition of these rights is not only right and just, but leads to more people becoming informed on the issues on our day and making positive decisions for society. Allowing 17 year olds to vote in primaries exposes them to politics, exposes them to the issues of our day, and encourages them to not only vote in the primaries, but in the general elections following. One of the large issues of our day is turnout for general elections. Our turnout in the most recent nationwide election is 49.3%, and encouraging young people to vote could increase voter turnout drastically long term.

One of the effects of increased voter turnout is the increased consumption of information, and more people who become involved in the political process, one of the large parts of the American Experiment.