Age is just a number people say, but it isn’t just that. Depending on a person’s age, it holds a lot of restrictions against them, such as voting. Voting shouldn’t start at a certain age; it should start when a person is mature. Many teens are clearly ready to vote because of their maturity, but they’re not yet old enough, therefore holding them back.

Addison Freeman, sophomore, states, “I think teens should be able to vote because we should have the say in things as well, not just people 18 or older, that shouldn’t be fair. I understand if they want to make it to where certain age groups can vote but I feel like us teens should.” As Freeman states, certain age groups below the age of 18 should be eligible for voting. Although some teens are not yet mature, others are and are ready to vote. Also, there should not be issues that only people 18 and older can have a say in. A person’s right to have a say in something should be allowed at a younger age than 18, when they reach maturity, not a certain age. Also, Jailynn Sarbaum, sophomore, states, “I also think that there should be restrictions, but I also think younger people should have more of a say in it than what we do because we are affected by whatever the outcome is, I think the age should be more around 15 or 16 because that’s kind of where people start learning more about politics and understanding what’s happening.” As Sarbaum says, although younger teenagers should not be able to vote, older teens should be able to. 15–16-year-olds are mature and should be able to vote if they want to. Also, middle teenagers really start learning and getting involved with politics, but sometimes they can’t even vote for four more years, if they miss the voting age by a little bit.

Also, many teens believe that the election would have gone the other way, if teens were able to vote. Freeman states, “I think if teens were able to vote that the election would have gone the total opposite because I feel like with more people’s opinions than the votes would have been higher.” Many teenagers feel as if the election would have gone the other way if their age bracket would have been able to vote. With their being so many teens, the election could have easily gone the other way if the teens in the 15-16 age bracket were able to vote. Sarbaum states, “I think if more teens were able to vote the outcome of the elections would have been different because more people around our age had different opinions about rights and were more open to hearing others opinions from what I’ve seen” As Sarbaum stated, a lot of teens had different opinions on the outcome of the 2024 election, and many felt as if the outcome was not right. If teens would have been able to vote, the outcome of this election could have easily been different.

To conclude, if mature teenagers would have been able to vote for this 2024 election, it could have turned out differently. So, teens should be able to vote before they turn 18 because their age doesn’t matter as much as their opinion.