Left Coast Thinking

15 March 2004


California May Let 14 Year-Olds Vote

Californians, fresh from deciding that the governor they elected wasn't really what they wanted and from putting the Terminator in office, now have decided that people as young as 14 should have the vote. The US Constitution clearly says that 18 is the age limit for federal elections, but it does not govern state and local elections. Proponents say it will be good for democracy, opponents that kids aren't up to it. Both are wrong.

State Senator John Vasconcellos, one of the four proposers of a bill that would permit a referendum on this, said, "When we gave the vote to those who didn't own property, then to women, then to persons of all colors, we added to the richness of our democratic dialogue and our own nation's integrity and its model for the world." Well, yes, but that doesn't quite mean that the quality of officeholders improved. Proponents will say that, contrary to the evidence, the people are capable of making proper judgments about government (yet no one votes on medical procedures, which affect far fewer people on a daily basis), so why not rely on the kids to help.

Assemblyman Ray Haynes opposes the idea. He told the AP, "There's a reason why 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds don't vote. They are not adults. They are not mature enough. They are easily deceived by political charlatans." Well, yes, but most people are easily deceived by political charlatans -- Herr Hitler got elected, after all. Maturity and wisdom do not correlate with age -- hence the saying "no fool like an old fool." The proponents acknowledge the objection, though, because 16-year-olds would get half a vote, 14-year-olds a quarter of a vote. Just like African-Americans used to count as 3/5 of a human being.

There is nothing wrong with instilling in young people the value of participating in democracy (a system that yields legitimacy if not good government). Taking a first-grader into the voting booth is preferable in many way to taking him to piano lessons. However, the AP also quoted Robert Reynolds, a student at Berkeley High School, as saying, "If we could vote, politicians would see us as votes, not just kids, and they would take our issues seriously." Oh the naivete of youth. Adults don't get a politician's attention because they have the vote; they get that attention by donating $1,000 to the campaign war chest. One is less terrified by the idea of a fourteen-year-old holding a ballot than by one holding an ATM card. Fortunately, few have their priorities so far out of line that they wouldn't rather spend $1,000 to attract members of the opposite sex at that age.

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