On balance, people over 65 should not be able to vote in the United States political system

Rebuttal 1: "Mental Capacity of Seniors" Con says "The ability to reason and solve problems may be slowed, but that does not mean the quality of their conclusions is diminished." If ability to reason and solve problems is slowed, as con admits, the quality of conclusions can in fact be diminished. This is largely due to the possibility of being unable to reach a conclusion. As the graph in my first arguments shows the decline gets worse as time goes on. In other words the ability to reason is not just "slowed" but is slowing. Con addresses my quote that "Due to age, "there are declines in mental domains such as processing speed, reasoning, memory and executive functions, some of which is underpinned by a decline in a general cognitive factor." He says "The one worrying thing in here is that it seems to imply that the ability to reason diminishes with age. Two things about this. First, my opponent mis-represents the fact by cutting off the beginning of the sentence, which states, "Beginning from early adulthood..." He continues adding "Not only does this show that his source does not talk about the specific issues seniors face, but it shows that most voters who aren't seniors are not entirely removed from those issues, raising the question of whether or not seniors are especially worthy of being singled out." My response: This is not a misrepresentation as the terminology states "beginning" as in, starts and then continues. Again the graph as shown in the first argument shows that this does in fact get worse as time goes on. Implying solidly that these issues get much worse with age, and are therefore more of an issue, on balance for those that are older. Rebuttal 2: "Superior Political Knowledge of Seniors" Unfortunately, when I try to follow the second link provided by my opponent to as article that supposedly "found that seniors are far more knowledgeable and informed than the other age voting blocs in America," I find no such article. Apparently I would have to purchase the article to read it. My opponent concludes "I would submit that the mostly irrelevant information presented by my opponent regarding decreasing mental processes is negated by the fact that seniors are more informed voters, and informed in a way that doesn't mean they've been propagandized en masse." My response: As I cannot confirm that "that seniors are more informed voters," and as those reading will also likely not be able to, I invite my opponent to provide a source or link that can be viewed to verify this claim. Until such has happen I will leave this unaddressed. Rebuttal 3: "Function of Democracy" Con says "In a democracy, everybody is supposed to have a voice, in order that everyone has the best shot of having their needs met. How are seniors to voice their needs if they don't have a vote?" The United States certainly does not apply this idea of democracy to voting that my opponent does. Empirically evident, as those younger than 18 do not vote, and are reliant on others to represent their voice or in other words "do it for them." He also says "Think about all the misinformation circulated in regards to politics. It's reasonable to say that this propensity towards misinformation could negatively affect non-seniors voting for seniors." Again, is this not already so for those younger than 18. Does not the "propensity towards misinformation" affect everyone already, if not especially the very young, and the very old. Rebuttal 4: "Slippery Slope" I advise those reading this argument to be wary of any "slippery slope" argument as they are Fallacies. (1) Rebuttal 5: "International Relations" Con says "Simply put, doing this would make America look extremely bad in the eyes of our democratic allies, especially the eyes of the UN. The UN fervently supports democracy[5], and has established legal international bases regarding the requirements of democracy.[6] It is likely that if America were to break the status quo and take away voting rights from a whole group of people, there would be repercussions, possibly in the form of harmful economic sanctions." We already take voting rights away from groups of people. Criminals, those under 18, the mentally handicapped etc" The link provided by con to the requirements of democracy states this, "Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."(2) No mention is made to age, and this is no mistake as many democracies limit voting due to age. The following link goes to a list of democracies that limit voting due to age. (3) As such, the international reaction that my opponent says could happen seems highly unlikely. Rebuttal 6: "Better alternatives" These "alternatives" that my opponent suggests seem to be inconsistent with his previous arguments. Specifically his arguments on "function of a democracy" and "slippery slope." It seems my opponent by presenting this argument agrees and acknowledges that there is an issue concerning those currently aloud to vote. I would not refute such ideas in addition to restricting voting to a specific age. Rebuttal 7: On balance Again my opponent concedes that there is an issue as he says "there is an alternative that is less sloppy in its solving of the problem." New arguments: In addition to the decline in the ability to reason and solve problems due to age, there is the issue of memory. "What causes age-related memory loss? "The hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in the formation and retrieval of memories, often deteriorates with age. "Growth factors"hormones and proteins that protect and repair brain cells and stimulate neural growth"decline with age. "Older people often experience decreased blood flow to the brain, which can impair memory and lead to changes in cognitive skills. "Older people are less efficient at absorbing brain-enhancing nutrients."(4) Conclusion: As people get older their brain begins to function less and less efficiently/effectively. This causes a decreased ability to reason and solve problems, as well as issues with memory. As such, this can drastically effect one"s ability to reasonably vote. Therefore, "On balance, people over 65 should not be able to vote in the United States political system." (1) http://www.nizkor.org... (2) http://www.hrweb.org... (3) http://en.wikipedia.org... (4) http://www.helpguide.org...