In 2012, 43% of Americans voted in the presidential election and only 68% of registered voters ended up voting at the polls. Of those numbers, 18- to 21-year-olds voted the least, while seniors voted nearly double that age group. The reason for this is that studies show that “18-year-olds, it turns out, are “not a great age group for first-time voting,” said Rob Richie (president of the national voting organization FairVote), “ Because many of them are on the verge of leaving their childhood homes. The more disrupted your life is, the less likely you are to vote.” “There is also a simple practical reason to extend the franchise, at least if we care about ultimately having high levels of participation.” John Bernstein writes for The American Perspectives suggesting that if 16-year-olds voted, they would be more likely to vote in the future. Most importantly, studies show that voters who start out younger are more likely to continue voting later. and those who don't are not. Since 16-year-olds have been shown to have more stable lives, this would increase voter turnout. In Takoma Park, Maryland, the local voting age was changed to 16 for the 2013 local elections, becoming the first city in the United States to do so. “Since the 26th Amendment gave 18-year-olds the right to vote more than 40 years ago, younger voters have been kind of failing in smaller numbers than their elders. In 2011, a meager 19 percent of eligible voters showed up to the polls, one voting official said, according to a Washington Post article. However, this was different with almost 42% of the city's 16-year-old registered residents under the age of 18 voting, that's almost four times......half of the paper......voted. These examples I have illustrated demonstrate that for many years we have given far-reaching rights to young Americans, comparable in substance and accountability to the right to vote. Can we really continue to believe that it is right to guarantee them all these rights, yet deny the right that matters most, the right to participate in choosing the government under which they live? I believe the risk is extremely small. The nation as a whole would gain substantial benefits by ensuring 16- and 17-year-old American youth have a meaningful voice in shaping their futures within the established framework of our democracy. The right to vote is the fundamental right in our Constitution. It is the foundation of all our other fundamental rights and I believe that 16-year-olds have the right to be part of it. For these reasons I encourage a vote in favour.