Should teens be able to vote?

California State Senator John Vasconcellos, a Democrat from Santa Clara, has proposed giving teens under 18 the right to vote. According to his proposal, which he hopes to get on the November ballot, 16- and 17-year-olds would get half a vote, and 14- and 15-year-olds would each get a quarter vote. L.A. Youth asked teens what they thought.

“I think that 14- and 15-year-olds shouldn’t be able to vote because I don’t think they know enough of what’s going on, but 16- and 17-year-olds should be able to vote and they should be worth a whole vote. We’re a person just like anybody else.”
—Austin Paige-Roca, 16, Wilson HS (Los Angeles)

“I think it’s nice, but we should get more voting options—not just one quarter, probably one half.”
—Dominic Deas, 15, University HS (Los Angeles)

“I don’t think any of us [teens] are ready to have that big commitment. Most of us don’t know what’s going on in the world.”
—Yuri Gonzalez, 17, Wilson HS

“I believe that we should have the right to vote. I watch the news and I read the newspaper. I want to have a say on what the President is offering us. [The proposed law] is a good start. If 14- and 15-year-olds aren’t mature enough to vote, they wouldn’t go. A lot of adults, they don’t vote.”
—Mayra Lazarit, 16, San Fernando HS

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