This country was built upon the phrase no taxation without representation. Today 16 year old's (those with jobs) have to pay taxes and still cannot vote. We trust them to drive, and with parental consent they can join the military. So why can 16 year old's not vote? Since 1985 we have seen a rise in gun violence especially in the teenage population. Most crimes committed with a fire arm are going to get tried as an adult and the jury board has no peers for the defendant. Changing the voting age is a small step that we need to take to make necessary change in this country. 

down bellow is a letter that I am sending to congress. the more signatures I get the more likely congress will actually debate about this.

Dear Congress,

My name is Thor O. Hjaltason, I am an immigrant teenager; age 17. I have lived in Washington state for 15 years now, and in Massachusetts for two years. I live in Kirkland, King County, (District 9) Washington. I am in 12th grade in Juanita High School.

In July of 1971 the US legislators pass the 26th amendment through congress. We all know that the 26th amendment changed the voting age from 21 to 18, but should that age be lowered even more? In most states the working age starts around 16, and once someone starts getting income, those individuals have to pay taxes! It seems absurd to me that those “kids” can work, drive, pay taxes and in some cases be tried as an adult in criminal court but have no say in new legislation.

This year (2021) there have been a lot of new tax laws proposed and updates to current tax laws. Some of these laws are going to affect all economic classes even those “kids” that can’t vote. In addition to that, there are no current classes offered in high school that teach you how to properly pay taxes, but this letter isn’t about that. This letter is about changing the voting age from 18 to 16.

There might be a worry that changing the voting age would allow unwise voters to cast their vote, but in previous elections young voters make up some of the lowest percentage of voters. That has changed in 2020, but the population of 16–17-year old’s is not greater than the population of 18+ or even 21+. There isn’t enough evidence to say that lowering the voting age is a bad proposal. (yet again there is very little research done for this)

In most states you are allowed to get a drivers license at age 16. We have decided as a society that having 16-year-old on the road unsupervised is safe. These people have no voice about new traffic laws but if they assault a police officer while getting pulled over, they will most likely get tried as an adult. A 16-year-old is either a child or an adult.

In the state of Washington, we have decided that 16-year-old is old enough to give consent. This means that a 16-year-old could consent to sexual activity to a legal adult. Although all sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old is labeled as sexual misconduct of a minor, or molestation of a minor. If teenagers are not allowed to vote but are allowed to consent to sexual acts with an adult… then why are they still considered children, and not allowed to vote.

Voting allows an individual to qualify for jury duty. We have seen a rise in crimes committed by teenager. In 1985 when there was a steady growth of crimes committed with a firearm, we noticed another statistic. The rise of African American teenagers behind bars. (there wasn’t a clear enough data repot for all ethnic groups). In the constitution we have a right to a jury of our peers, but when a teenager is on trial for a capitol murder, he/she will not see someone their age sitting amongst the jury. Those individuals have no hope in a system like our own when there is no one on the jury that can relate to their experience. As the country with the biggest prison population, we need to create a better system. a system that works for modern problems. We can start that by changing the voting age.

Men and women of the US house of representatives, in conclusion I believe that we need to change the voting age from 18 to 16. A 16-year-old is either a child or an adult. We cannot tax those that cannot vote, if we put teenagers on trail as an adult shouldn’t they have a jury of their peers. I ask of you congress to discuss amongst yourselves wither or not 16-year-olds should have a voice in this country. We trust them enough to drive so why shouldn’t we trust them enough to vote?

Sincerely,

Thor O. Hjaltason of the 9th district of Washington state