April 4, 2020 | Reading Time: < 1 minute

Why can’t kids vote?

It’s not as crazy as it sounds. The voting age has always been more or less arbitrary. It was 21 before it was 18, the age an American can be drafted into fighting a war. The argument that grown ups are more rational, and therefore more capable and responsible, is pretty much defeated by the…

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It’s not as crazy as it sounds. The voting age has always been more or less arbitrary. It was 21 before it was 18, the age an American can be drafted into fighting a war.

The argument that grown ups are more rational, and therefore more capable and responsible, is pretty much defeated by the reality of the current president.

The real question isn’t whether children should allowed to vote but how low the voting age should go. Some say it should be 12. Others say it should be as low as 5.

I don’t know myself. I do know my 8-year-old daughter wants to vote. (She draw the above.) She says it isn’t fair she can’t. She says she has a right to choose a president, too. And honestly, who am I to say she’s wrong? That’s as rational as anything else.

This and other compelling subjects are what you’ll find here at the Editorial Board. Friday’s edition tried to view Jared Kushner through the lens of a paranoid authoritarian. You know what? It makes a lot of sense.

The paywall will be down for most of April, because I think that’s the right thing to do. Another right thing to do is becoming a paying subscriber! Or leaving a nice tip!

Many thanks and see you tomorrow! —John Stoehr

John Stoehr is the editor of the Editorial Board. He writes the daily edition. Find him @johnastoehr.

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