Every election, the campaigns push to “get out the vote” . . . encouraging EVERYONE to let their voices be heard. But one group’s voices are NOT being heard: BABIES.
There’s a new poll out on voting, and it includes this fascinating stat: 20% of Americans think kids “of all ages” should be allowed to vote.
It’s unclear how that would work for YOUNG kids, since they can’t keep their coloring inside the lines, so they wouldn’t be able to fill a tiny bubble with a pen.
But this is one option: 13% of people support giving parents one additional vote for each child they have who is a minor.
Interestingly enough, those percentages are virtually the same between conservatives and liberals . . . although folks 65 years old and older are NOT as hot on teens or little kids voting, OR parents getting extra votes.
So, if parents DID get an extra vote for their kids, wouldn’t that just be a bonus vote for whichever candidates THEY like? Not necessarily.
If this happened, 53% of people say the parents would “always” or “usually” vote the same when voting on behalf of their young kids. But 19% say that would only be the case “sometimes” . . . 10% say the votes would only match “rarely” . . . and 6% say they’d “never” be the same.
Maybe this explains that: 21% of people say the parents would “always” or “usually” customize their kids’ votes . . . to represent the best interests of the children.
33% say these “kids” votes would only be “sometimes” in the children’s best interests, and 27% say they’d “rarely” or “never” be in their best interests.
Whether or not you lower the voting age . . . even to 16 . . . a whopping 78% of people think there should be broader national programs to educate children and teens about the political process.
On the flip-side of all of this, 35% of people think the minimum voting age for national elections should be RAISED to 21.
(YouGov)
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