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

Good luck to you! Outline: A: Current Voter Eligibility. B: Citizens Under 18. C: Mental Capability of those older than 65 D: Voting as an act of personal liberty A: Current Voter Eligibility 15th amendment "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. " (1) 19th amendment "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. " (2) 26th amendment "Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. "(3) I provided these to establish the current law regarding who can or cannot vote. B: Citizens under 18 The United States does not allow citizens under the age of 18 to vote. There are many good reasons for this. The main one I would like to present is as follows. Within the human brain is the Prefrontal cortex. "The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is located in the very front of the brain, just behind the forehead. In charge of abstract thinking and thought analysis, it is also responsible for regulating behavior. This includes mediating conflicting thoughts, making choices between right and wrong, and predicting the probable outcomes of actions or events. "(4) "Since the PFC controls intense emotions and impulses, it is sometimes referred to as the seat of good judgement. As such, a properly functioning prefrontal cortex inhibits inappropriate behaviors " including delaying gratification of needs, for things like food or sex " while encouraging wise, acceptable choices. In part, this occurs because it works to allow humans to balance immediate reward with long-term goals. "(4) "Medical studies have shown that the PFC is the last section of the brain to mature. In other words, while all other brain regions are fully developed early in life, its development is not complete until around age 25. "(4) "A damaged PFC can negatively impact a person's ability to assess situations or perform tasks, particularly those of a moral or ethical nature. "(4) " As a number of researchers have put it, "the rental car companies have it right. " The brain isn't fully mature at 16, when we are allowed to drive, or at 18, when we are allowed to vote, or at 21, when we are allowed to drink, but closer to 25, when we are allowed to rent a car. "(5) Both of these sources suggest the age of PFC maturity is 25. It is quite clear that those younger than 18 on balance, do not have the mental capability to effectively think abstractly, or rationally, or "to balance immediate reward with long-term goals," due to this scientific truth. This lack of mental capability is generally accepted as a justifiable reason to keep those younger than 18 from voting. C: Mental Capability of those older than 65 Due to mental capability being a justifiable reason to restrict someone from voting, I submit that those older than 65 should not be able to vote in the United States of America. This is due to the decline that, on balance, has taken place in this age group in regard to cognitive ability. Cognitive: ": of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (as thinking, reasoning, or remembering) "(6) 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. "(7) "In general, however, the symptoms of cognitive decline that are associated with aging include: 1. Slower inductive reasoning / slower problem solving 2. Diminished spatial orientation 3. Declines in perceptual speed 4. Decreased numeric ability 5. Losses in verbal memory 6. Few changes in verbal ability" The graph on the right (third graph in the link just bellow) demonstrates how these functions decline with age. Note that there are almost no changes in verbal ability and they may even have improved with age. On the other hand, spatial orientation suffers a severe drop with age. "(8) (I apologize, I thought I would be able to post the graph here. I have been unable to find how to do that. ) . http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu... D: Voting as an act of personal liberty The United States political roots come from Liberalism. This ideology places emphasis on liberty. Many of the ideologues that postulated on the topic of liberty share the view that liberty is intended for those who are mentally capable. John Locke, known as the "father of liberalism," had this to say about liberty. (taken from "Second Treatise of Civil Government" Chapter 6) "The freedom then of man, and liberty of acting according to his own will, is grounded on his having reason, which is able to instruct him in that law he is to govern himself by, and make him know how far he is left to the freedom of his own will. To turn him loose to an unrestrained liberty, before he has reason to guide him, is not the allowing him the privilege of his nature to be free"(9) John Stuart Mill said this ""It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say that this doctrine (of liberty) is meant to apply only to human beings in the maturity of their faculties. "(10) Both of these men are referencing those who are not yet mature mentally. Due to today"s knowledge of the brain and cognitive decline in old age, I submit that this clearly applies to those who are past the age of being "grounded in reason. " In both cases of those younger than 18 and older than 65 there do exist those who are mentally capable. However "on balance" people in these categories are not fully mentally capable. Conclusion Under current law, the U. S. restricts those younger than 18 from voting. This is reasonable as mentally, those younger than 18 are not as capable, according to science, to reason or think critically. The same can be said of those over the age of 65. Allowing people to vote who are not mentally as capable can have a negative effect on any nation. Due to the impairment caused by cognitive decline due to age; on balance, people over 65 should not be able to vote in the United States political system. (1) . http://www.law.cornell.edu... (2) . http://www.law.cornell.edu... (3) . http://www.law.cornell.edu... (4) . http://www.wisegeek.org... (5) . http://hrweb.mit.edu... (6) . http://www.merriam-webster.com... (7) . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... (8) . http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu... (9) . http://www.constitution.org... (10) . http://www.bartleby.com...