"Rock the Vote" by Patricia Smith

I recently read the article "Rock the Vote" by Patricia Smith and I found it very interesting. The article is about the ongoing fight to change the voting age from 18 to 16. Although, it hasn't occurred yet, we are given many reasons to think that this age would be write. 16 year olds can pay taxes, work and drive but can't vote. Is that right? All throughout the article, this is the question that we constantly ask ourselves. Patricia Smith wants us to think that lowering the voting age to 16 would actually help many more people than you think and would benefit the nation.

Patricia Smith tries very hard to persuade us that this age is perfect. One way that she does this is by using 16 year olds to express their views on the voting age. It persuades us to think that they should lower the voting age, because we get to see what it is like for someone who can do many things, such as pay taxes, but can't got for their nation electives. Also, Patricia Smith gives many loopholes to the voting age. She tells us how 13 states allow 17 year olds to vote in primaries if they'll be 18 by Election Day. This shows that she is trying to comprehend what it would be like for 17 year olds to vote and that we should lower that to a 16 voting age. Lastly, Patricia Smith also takes what we think about adolescents and turns it into a positive. " The way that adolescents are not mature is that they are not good at making rapid, high stakes emotional decisions. But voting isn't like that." It is interesting how Patricia Smith writes this because it turns a double negative into a positive and persuades us even more to believe that lowering the voting age to 16 is the right thing to do.

I personally believe with Patricia Smith in that lowering the voting age is good for the nation. As was stated, the voters have decreased measurably in the past years and so I think with a younger generation in, not only would it increase the polls, but I also think it would encourage to people who aren't voting to vote. Lastly, I also think that if a person has to pay taxes then they have the right to vote. They are paying to see the production of their nation and so I think if they can do that, then they are allowed a say in their government.