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How Would High School Students have voted in the 2020 US Presidential Election? Making a Case for Lowering the Voting Age to 16

Elis A. Kristo

There is a growing debate on whether people younger than 18 are ready to vote in national elections. Hence, a survey study was conducted to evaluate the voting preferences of 392 students from a high school in Newton, MA, USA, in the run-up to the 2020 US Presidential Election, and compare them with the voting results in the general population of Newton. Furthermore, we sought the perspectives of the high school students on allowing people under 18 to vote. A total of 161 of 392 surveys were completed (41.1% response rate). The results of the hypothetical voting by high school students were similar to the publicly available voting results of the residents of the city of Newton, suggesting that young voters can be trusted to make informed decisions and adequately participate in the voting process.