the voting age should be lowered to 16.

That being said I will offer up my refute as follows. In terms of education their is already the existence of student councils definition: "The student council helps share students' ideas, interests, and concerns with teachers and school principals. They often also help raise funds for school-wide activities, including social events, community projects and school reform. " . http://en.wikipedia.org... Thus students can enact their ideas in a fair manner, for example my own school recently got their hat policy removed due to efforts from student government. However, I'd like to point out that not all students know what is best for their school. Many children for example would argue that they would like less homework, because it is a hassle. Further more teenagers many times have their own inner emotions developing and thus their priorities can differ between what they believe is right and what ultimately is right. Further more students are able to influence the vote toward let's say a super-attendant who is the one who ultimately sets up school policies (outside of the department of education but this is picked by the president and not in an open election). Students should not be able to gain this power because they are still minors and under the authority of their legal guardians. Thus parents are the ones who have the right to decide what is just and un-just for their child. In terms of tax payers I will be brief; each school system spends a lot of money in terms of the education and upbringing of kids from Pre-K to the time they walk out of the public school system. I believe no matter how many taxes kids may pay their is no way it is equivalent to the amount of money total spent by the government on the kids education; including school discounts, scholarships, health services, food discounts etc. Thus to be honest your tax dollars really are only being put to benefit you. I absolutely agree that youth are "capable" of having an educated opinion. However, does that mean the majority of kids are able to make rational decisions while ignoring outside influences? Obama had a lot of support from the "gangster" community as many rappers openly promoted Obama. Thus kids can easily be influenced by their own idols, I believe many kids will openly admit they have somebody who they look up too. During a survey conducted; "Analyzing the results of a test administered to a sample of high-school juniors of different races, sexes, income levels and geographic regions," "Three quarters of the students did not know when Abraham Lincoln was president; three of every ten could not place the Civil War in the proper half-century. More than a third could not place the writing of the Constitution in the proper half-century. Map questions revealed only the most elementary knowledge of American or European geography; many girls, black and Hispanic students had trouble locating Great Britain. For the most part what information or misinformation students had about world events and great works of literature seem to come from movies and television rather than from school. " . http://www.aim.org... Thus we see that not only are kids not aware of even some of the most basic facts of American know-how; but further more they are easily influenced from outside sources rather than the school system. I would like to ask my opponent to provide the number of people who took this program and further information on it (WTP); obviously if I go into a top Honors course where they have been teaching U. S. policy all day it is quite clear this group would be able to answer questions correctly. Further more just because a person know how U. S. government works doesn't necessarily mean they know all the current issues. A government major can still be ignorant of current affairs plaguing the country. Regarding IQ tests I would like to point out that one may be "smart" without being knowledgeable in politics. Their are many very-well educated people in their fields who are unaware of some of the most basic facts about politics; things such as who is Obama's vice-president, who I personally recall asking my fellow peers and many of which could not answer. My opponent has no proof that youth voting will increase adult voting; I would like to point out that many young kids elect to help out at local campaign groups to help their candidate win. Thus a kid does not need to vote to go out to influence people to vote for their cause. I would like to also point out again that kids can easily be influenced by their own idols or by peer pressure, a major thing that teens deal with. I'm not even going to spend my time on the idea that the "evil conservatives" are stopping the "innocent liberals" from voting because they are afraid that all young people will vote liberal. I would like to point out to my opponent that when you are born in the U. S. you get a birth certificate claiming citizenship; essentially as a citizen you are required to follow the laws set by the government. I myself do not like Obama but that does not mean I can ignore the laws set by the government because I do not like him. Further more we have junior courts to specifically punish young people without imposing long-last implications except in the most severe courses. Their is a difference between tried as a minor and tried as an adult. Adults are allowed to punish minors just like adults can punish other adults. A minor is meant to be in a growing stage and thus it is up to his guardians to instill good values in him; further more a minor is still allowed their rights and if he is done an injustice he is allowed to bring a complaint against it and his guardians are allowed to file a suit. You can't smack a child in school for example without the risk of being sued for physical harm. I would like my opponent to provide proof of all these studies and polls that prove teenagers want to vote, further more even if they want to vote; I assume also many would like to have the ability to drink. I assume many would like to be able to take only single-subject courses and not be subjected to have to take multiple subject courses. Further more what substantial change would be warranted by lowering the age to 16 or older? Minors are denied so many liberties already that are not permitted until reaching the age of 18, so the idea that lowering the voting age would affect them more directly is not necessarily true. The main thing is also that they are under the guardianship of a higher authority parent who has the right to decide what is right for their own child. The government by allowing votes by young people is essentially taking the rights away from parents to decide what is right for their individual child. "The ages from 15 to 18 are an exciting time of life. But these years can be challenging for teens and their parents. Emotions can change quickly as teens learn to deal with school, their friends, and adult expectations. " "Even though they have a certain amount of empathy and can understand that others have different ideas, they often strongly believe that their own ideas are the most true. " "Much of teens' emotional and social growth is about finding their place in the world. They are trying to figure out "Who am I? " and "How do I fit in? " So it is normal for their emotions to change from day to day. " . http://health.yahoo.com... By utilizing these quotes above we can see that for multiple reasons teenagers are still not at the level of maturity that they can be considered well-minded enough to be able to vote for a general good.