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Dear Editor:

You can look it up yourself, but the scientific fact is that “white matter” enables nerve signals to flow freely between different parts of the brain. In teenagers, the part that governs judgment, the frontal lobe, is the last to be fully connected — there is not enough white matter.

People aged 18 and 19 are teenagers, and are thus, short on white matter. Their judgment is impaired.

Thus, the twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution is flawed, since it allows people with not enough white matter for good judgment to vote for president and vice president.

More alarming, there are efforts underway now to permit 16- and 17-year-old people to vote.

In 2008, 66 percent of those 18 to 24 years old voted for Obama. They comprised 10 percent of the total votes.

In 2012, 60 percent of those 18- to 24 years old voted for Obama. They comprised 11 percent of the total votes.

Once again, the Founding Fathers were right. Those under 21 should not be allowed to vote in presidential elections. Amazing how prescient they were.

Deciding who should be prez and VP should not be a judgment call for those with underdeveloped frontal lobes.

Camille Cazedessus

This story was posted on December 5, 2013.
  • Shane_Tuller

    Rather, I would disagree. I think the voting proposition does not go far enough. Let all denizens of America, who have the capacity to do so, be legally able to vote in any and all elections.
    If a person is to be governed by another, or a given set of laws, then they MUST have a say in the matter, regardless of age.
    Can people 18 years old go off to war in defense of God and Country? Then they damn sure should have a vote.