If you are too young to work you shouldn't have to vote I think, but if you can get a job you should be able to vote. This of course won't solve all the parties being shit tho.

An illiterate or blind adult can ask for help. A poll worker will read the ballot or provide a braille version to help them, and will fill out the ballot with them if requested.

I'm still agreeing with you, you've convinced me that any age barrier is arbitrary and hypocritical.

As for registration being a hurdle, the courts have long held that the effort to be registered is minimal, as again there are resources to help people get registered. There are outreach programs, and you can actually go to your local post office or dmv and they will help you register. Children would have an even easier time, since anyone in school could have a teacher or school staff help them.

Children are particularly beholden to their parents for support, though, and by "certain type" I mean the type of person who thinks that having a child is a means to an end. There's a whole spectrum of quality parenting decisions, but as a general rule, anyone who is having more kids to have more votes is probably a bad parent.

Children are not autonomous and are beholden to another citizen for their existence. That's a civic relationship too easy to abuse with, what I see to be, very little net benefit.

I'm in support of not taxing children, but how will you distinguish an intentional purchase made by a child vs a purchase made on behalf of someone else for the benefit of a tax-free purchase?

I just want to say thank you. It's... so unbelievably rare to find someone else on the right side of this in the wild. To not have to fight this fight alone.

Thank you for stepping up, for speaking out, for... all of it.

Which would end in...?

You go in the booth, it's Option A or Option B. You fill in the box. Nobody cares why.

What you've said here is a meaningless non-answer based on culturally ingrained prejudice.

In reality, we already don't require old people to actually have or demonstrate either of those things.

Sheltered people and hermits aren't denied the vote. They don't have to have experienced anything but the passage of time, regardless of how little they've filled it with.

People who watch lies on purpose aren't denied the vote. They might have no understanding but misunderstanding and still are able to steer the course of the country based on delusions and propaganda.

Think of every garbage politician you've seen get elected. All the damage they've done. And realize that old people elected every single one of them.

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter. Is a 12 year old actually worse in any way?